


Ateez: Two Worlds Apart

by RunInCircles



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: AU, Action, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Multiple attempts at murder, One-sided SanSang, TW: Mentions of suicide in one chapter, There IS a little blood, There will be a happy ending there is just a lot of sadness to get through first sorry, This will be a lot of action and a lot of gay, W: Two Worlds Apart, Will be explicit sexy content, also a lot of cursing cause thats the only way I know how to speak, character death for .2 seconds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23581018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunInCircles/pseuds/RunInCircles
Summary: AU based on the drama, "W: Two Worlds Apart"What if one day you woke up in a manhwa? What if you accidentally fell in love with the main character? What are you to do? What would you do to stay by the side of the one you love?Wooyoung as all these questions and an answer to none of them.
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung
Comments: 30
Kudos: 46





	1. Episode 1: Idolization

**Author's Note:**

> So like I wrote this last year and never posted it cause I thought it was trash but like fuck it lol. I have no beta cause I have no friends who likes ateez. Hmu if you want to help make sure my writing doesn't suck or you just want to talk about how cute San looks in glasses. 
> 
> Sorry if it's trash. It kinda follows the exact story of W but I want to diverge it in the future and make it somewhat original. All credit to the writers of my fav drama ever though.
> 
> Also sorry if you play volleyball and have to read the first part. I have no idea how and google is only a little helpful cause I am lazy. 
> 
> Tell me if you like it. I don't have a good track record for continuing fics but I will try since I actually really like the idea behind this. 
> 
> Please don't bash me if its bad. I am not a writer. I code lol.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end.

San could feel the tension in his arms burn as the ball ricocheted off his wrist. The burning is what kept him going. That and the screams of the millions of people that surrounded him. The air was becoming so dense he could barely breathe. In one breath, out another. The crowd surged forward.

“Kill! Germany scored, bringing the total up to 13. Only one point behind South Korea.” The announcer basically was screaming through the speakers overhead.

Just one more point. That is all they needed. One more point and he could have a gold medal hanging around his neck along with his teammates. He could be South Korea’s number one Libero. All they have to do is get one more point. 

Three things happened in the next second. One, a bead of sweat fell from his brow onto his arm. Two, his teammates all turned their heads to look at him. Three, San’s body crashed onto the floor, his arms extended, hitting the ball with his forearm right before it hit the ground. He could barely get up. His body felt like it was on fire. The game seemed to last forever as this was the 5th set. If it went on any longer San felt like his body might just give out under him. In fact, that might be what it just did. He couldn’t lift his head, let alone get up from the crumpled pile he was on the floor. 

Before he could register anything, he felt multiple arms enclose his body and lift him up. Tears were dropped onto his neck as his team surrounded him with joyous smiles on their face. San looked to the leader board. 

15-13. They had won. He turned to his father on the sidelines and smiled. He finally made him happy.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

San was dreading walking into his family house. The place he once called home. The one place he used to feel loved. He hadn’t talked to his father after last night’s fight and just the thought of walking in to see his disappointed face filled his stomach with dread. He almost gave up on the thought and turned around, but something was nagging him in the back of his mind. It was too quiet. He could not hear a single word from behind the door. That was odd. San’s family was almost as loud as he was, especially when it was volleyball night. A new wave of dread raced through San that quickly replaced the one prior. He reached out and opened the door, calling out for his mother.

“Mom? Is anyone h-”

The words abruptly stopped inside his throat. There on the floor lay his father. The man who had raised him. The man who had helped him live out his dreams. The man who had placed the gold medal around his neck. That man was currently lying on the floor, a bullet hole directly in the middle of his eyebrows, and a pool of blood surrounding him.

San stood still for a moment, letting the scene slowly make its way to his brain. This can’t be real. The bag he was holding dropped to the floor as San ran to his father’s side. His shoes skidded into the blood, splashing some up onto his clothes; a drop making its way up to San's face. No. No no no no no.

Tears filled his eyes as he looked down at the man, but they didn’t stay there for long. When he looked up he saw both his brother and mother lying on the floor in a similar manner, blood splattered around their still bodies. That is all he could process before the police arrived.

The minute they entered, San's head whipped towards the three officers. His face was covered in tears and the single drop of blood as they raised their guns towards the teenager.

“Stand down!”

He missed the goal on the TV as the crowd cheered for the winning team.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Choi San, a 19-year-old Olympics gold medalist was found at a murder scene last Saturday night. Both of his parents and brother were found to be shot once through the head with an illegal gun that was found in the dumpster out back of the apartment complex. It has recently been found out San and his father had a fight the night prior about his career in volleyball as San had conveyed, he wanted to quit and go to college. Police speculate this is the motive for the horrific murders. This news comes to a horrifying shock to the residents of South Korea as San was a model and idol for the athletic youth of this generation. His hearing is set for 4pm today to decide his punishment. Keep listening to KBS for more news as this story unfolds.”

They kept on talking about him like he murdered his parents. He did not murder his parents. However, the man across from him believed otherwise. The prosecution was anything but nice to him these past couple of weeks. The amount of times he had his head slammed into a table as the man before him yelled, “Why did you kill your family?!”, was too many to count. His only amount of peace he has had since this disaster started was Hongjoong. The older friend would visit him when he could and tell him about what had been happening out in the world; including the burial of his entire family. He had not been able to go since his life had been reduced to his jail cell.

None of that mattered now as he stood on trial. He had to prove he was innocent, an almost impossible task.

“Your honor, with all this evidence I think it is proven without a doubt that this man is guilty. Not only that, he seems to hold no empathy or apology for the actions he has committed. Due to this I think it is very reasonable for me to ask for the highest punishment possible, the death penalty.” 

San’s body jerks forward at the words and scrambles onto the floor. “You bastard!” His yelling fell on deaths ears as two of the bodyguards grip his arm and push him into the floor before he could get to the prosecutor. Said man stood only five feet away from him with a smirk crowning his face. It’s not like San could do anything even if he wanted to. Both of his arms are held behind his back with handcuffs that were slowly but surely cutting off all circulation to San’s hands.

“He’s guilty! Look at him trying to kill Prosecutor Lee!” “Kill him! Put him in the chair!” “What a bastard!”

From the back of the court room, slurs were thrown around like tomatoes, but San couldn’t hear them as his ears were filled with rushing blood. The two security guards gripping him throw him back onto the chair he was previously in as the judge pounded his gavel on the podium up ahead.

“Order in the court!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wooyoung slowly came to as an alarm blared in his ear. 

“Yunho! Your phones ringing, idiot,” he said flailing his arm towards the bed holding the other man. However, the alarm kept blaring as he made no move to go get it. Wooyoung reached behind him and gripped the pillow he was sleeping on in his hand and hurled it to the other sleeping boy. “Get up!”

Yunho jerked awake in the bed, blinking at the world as he came to. “Dude, that’s not my phone…” His voice almost apologetic as he let it out. Wooyoung’s eyes snap open at the younger’s words. “Shit.”  
Wooyoung bolted out of the bottom bunk of the nap bed, almost slipping on a bag of Doritos that sat on the floor. His hand flew to the phone sitting on the desk that was littered with coats and miscellaneous food to see over 10 missed calls.

Yunho peered over Wooyoung’s shoulder from the top bunk behind him and let out a low tone whistle. “Oh, I hope you don’t get fired, Wooyoung-ah. That or castrated by Dr. Park. Good luck and I wish you the best in your future endeavors. It’s been nice working with you.” The last part of his sentence was muffled by the pillow as he stuffed his face back into it. Which was fine as Wooyoung was already out the door with his jacket clutched in his hand. The sprint from the overnight sleep room to Dr. Seonghwa Park’s office was a short path, but the 10 minutes it took to get there stretched into what felt an hour. Wooyoung’s heart almost pumped out of his chest.

He almost missed the door as his shoes slid across the tiled floor of the hospital. He had to stop for a second to catch his breath and throw his white doctors’ jacket around his shoulder before slowly knocking and letting himself into Dr. Park’s office. Said man was sitting at his desk and looked up when the door opened. “Mr. Jung. So nice of you to finally show your face.”

Wooyoung already had his head down, not even daring to make eye contact. Essentially, he was trying to make himself as small as he could, which wasn’t that hard given his height. His back hunching into itself and his hands clasped in front of his chest with a look of fear spread across his face. Before Dr. Park could say anything else, Wooyoung was already rambling off his apologies. “Dr. Park. I am so sor-”

Seonghwa only raised his hand to stop the younger boy from talking. “As you should. How could you never tell me?”

Wooyoung had to pause and think about his senior’s words. “Wait…Tell you what exactly?”

“Are you related to Jung Hyunbin?”

And with that one question, Wooyoung finally understands. “Ah…Yes.” He says this while an extremely uncomfortable smile spreads across his face. Just another person who was in love with his father. Nothing new. 

“Then why are you like this?”

“Um, excuse me?”

“If your father is Jung Hyunbin, how come you’re just…. Jung Wooyoung?”

Okay, Ouch. Did he really have to say it like that though? He was talking about Wooyoung’s dad like he was a god but to himself if was like he was only a pesky bug to stomp on. But Dr. Park just kept digging in, never stopping in his barrage of questions.

“Do you hang out with him often? Who is your mother?”

” Oh… um…You see….”

Dr. Park just continues to stare, waiting for the answer and not understanding he just asked a super personal question.

“Well, I’ve lived with my mom since my parents divorced, but me and my dad are fairly close. What are you trying to get at here?”

“Give me some spoilers!” Without taking a pause, he started taking copy after copy of _Ateez_ out and dropping them on the desk in front of Wooyoung. “It is all I’ve been reading lately. I am obsessed with the main character, though Hongjoong is definitely my favorite.”

Wooyoung couldn’t decide between laughing at this situation or being angry that Dr. Park thought this was an acceptable reason to wake him up from the few hours of sleep he gets a day to talk about his father’s manhwa. He decided he liked his job though, so he just nodded his head and tried to not look as uncomfortable as he felt.

“Y-Yeah. He’s my favorite as well.” Wooyoung reaches down and picks up the first copy of _Ateez_ off the desk. “Choi San is so cool the way he overcomes everything thrown at him. Not to mention how handsome he is.” Wooyoung pauses after his short rambling and immediately regrets it. Only he would come out to his boss over a manhwa character. He raises his hand and hit his mouth, punishing himself for not thinking before he spoke. Dr. Park starts to raise his hand and Wooyoung flinches thinking he might hit him for saying something a little to gay. However, his hand stops right in front of Wooyoung.

“High five.” 

Wooyoung very hesitantly gives his boss the high five he was waiting on. While both doctors were fanboying over the manhwa sitting in front of them, Yunho slipped into the room without notice. The resident slid over to stand behind the youngest in the room. 

“You have to tell me. You’re his son, you have to know how the series ends.”

“I’m sorry Dr. Park. He doesn’t really tell me much about the-“

“I’ll let you be the head of the surgery today!” At those words everyone in the room froze.

Yunho sputtered over himself, “Wait what! Dr. Park this is not fair! He is the youngest resident here!” 

Dr. Park wasn’t listening to Yunho, keeping his eyes fixed on Wooyoung in front of him. 

Wooyoung hasn’t felt this excited since the first time he read about Choi San. “I’ll get you that spoiler.” 

Wooyoung and Yunho made their way out of the Head of Surgery’s room after talking about the plans for today. Wooyoung is quick to take out his phone. The screen lights up to show a sketch of San. It was one of the first rough draft sketches of the character his dad had shown him. Wooyoung had fallen in love with his father’s creation after only a few panels of the first novel. Since he was 16, he had followed the progress of the novel closely, ever but surely invested. And isn’t it funny enough that a character his dad created gave him his gay awakening. Oh, how ironic. 

Before Wooyoung could open his contacts to call his phone, someone else was already calling him. The screen lit brightly with the name Song Mingi. Perfect, just who he needed to talk to. He quickly answered the call before it could ring out. 

“Mingi! I really need a favor from you. I know it’s a lot to ask since dad never gives away any information to anyone except for you but I would be willing to pay you in as much food as you could possibly eat.”

“Wooyoung…”

“It’s for the betterment of my career Mingi-ah. Like I can finally make something of myself.”

“Wait, Wooyoung-“

“Please Mingi I’m begging you. I’ll do anything for you. Whatever you want.”

“I don’t just- Wooyoung, be quiet.”

Finally, Wooyoung quieted down for a second from the urgency in his friend’s voice. 

“What’s happening?”

“Wooyoung, your dad is missing.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the first step taken inside of Wooyoung’s fathers house, you are assaulted with imagery from his manhwa. Pictures of San and all the side characters in different situations are hung up on the wall, plastering every free space for the eye to see. It was always Wooyoung’s favorite part of coming over to his dad’s house. Seeing all the artwork. Not only just his favorite character, but the landscapes and beautiful scenarios his dad would paint for the world to see. The colorful leaves his dad would draw fill his mind and make him wish he had the courage like him to pursue his dream. 

Mingi ran to Wooyoung the minute he noticed the younger enter the house. The later laughs as a trembling hand holds onto the sweater wrapped around his torso. “Listen Mingi, my dad probably just stayed up drinking as usual there’s nothing to worry about.”

“But he didn’t! No one has seen or heard of him since before last night. I even went to the bar he usually goes to and called his friends, but no one has seen him. He even left his phone here!” Said phone was pushed into Wooyoung face from the anxious boy. 

Anxiety also started to fill Wooyoung’s stomach as well. Even his friends? That was unusual, even for his father. He made his way to his dad’s office, waving at the other two assistants sitting at their desks. Joonyoung and Minjae both wave back but are to invested in the work in front of them to do much else. 

“Listen, Wooyoung, our deadline is today and Hyunbin-sunbaenim has never missed a publication deadline before.” Wooyoung let his hand rest on the back of Mingi’s shirt since it looks like he’s about to faint with worry any second now. His nails already bloody from biting them to death and that familiar crazed look that is only ever present when he’s late on a deadline is in his eyes.

His dad’s office is decorated similarly like the rest of the house. The wall’s covered with San and friends faces. Right above his dad’s desk sits the first drawing of San; the one that decorated Wooyoung’s phone screen. Below, on the desk sat a cacophony of papers and a huge tablet. The tablet that helped create the world that Wooyoung had treasured throughout his childhood.

“When did you last see him?”

“Last night. I had come in here to give him coffee around 9 o’clock and he told me to come back at 10 instead. I remember clearly, he said 10 o’clock exactly. But when I came back, he had just disappeared…without a trace!” Wooyoung rolled his eyes at the over exaggerated retelling of the encounter. Mingi was such a drama queen. “Should I call the cops?”

“No, they won’t be able to do anything anyways. It hasn’t been 24 hours since we had last seen him.” Wooyoung ran a hand down his face. He could already feel a headache worming its way to the front of his head. Leave it up to his dad to cause this much trouble the day of publication. “Maybe he’s just sad to see San go. I mean he’s been working on this manhwa for like 10 years now. I would be sad.” And another quieter, “I am sad.”

Mingi just brushes off that thought immediately though. “No, that’s not it.” He just scoffs at the idea like it was insane. “Sunbae was tired of San. He hated him. In fact, he was going to kill him in the final scene.” The second the last word passed Mingi’s lips, his eyes widened in fear and swore under his breathe.

Wooyoung’s heart stopped for a second before restarting again. “Excuse me, what?!” His dad would never kill San. Not after… Not after everything that San represented for him. For them. “He would never do that.”

Mingi just sighed. “Listen I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about that. Please don’t tell Sunbae that I told you. Just… Go look at the tablet. That’s how I figured it out.”

Wooyoung turned to the desk holding his fathers’ tablet. He was hesitant. If his dad had killed San in the final scene, he didn’t know if he could handle it. San had brought him and his father closer after everything that had happened. Why would his father just throw him away after everything? It made no sense. Each step echoed in Wooyoung’s ear as he made his way around the desk. 

When he finally got around to the other side, Wooyoung had closed his eyes. The fear that his dad would just throw away a character that he had loved so much coursed through his heart. When he slowly lifted open his eyelid, his brain couldn’t fully comprehend what he was seeing for a few seconds. Th image that was in-front of him was a truly gruesome scene. There lay San with a stab wound piercing through his stomach. Blood surrounded his body and gripped his hair, with some splatter dripping off of his eyelashes. 

Wooyoung couldn’t believe his eyes. His father had actually done it. He killed San. “What is this? Why? Why…? Why would you kill-” Wooyoung brought a hand up to caress the face in front of him. 

Mingi cleared his throat reminding Wooyoung he was not the only person in the room. “I know. It doesn’t make any sense to us either.”

Wooyoung just kept staring at the image, muttering under is breathe. “Is he really dead?”

Mingi somehow had made the trek around the desk to stand behind his friend without his knowledge, probably cause Wooyoung had been so invested in the picture. “I mean. You’re a doctor. You should be able to tell with all that blood.” Wooyoung glared at that retort and Mingi stuttered over himself trying desperately to backtrack. “I-I mean the team and him have never argued once, not once! But even we told Sunbae this was a bad idea. Minjae even cried! But he insisted. Saying that it was his life’s wish to do it and if we had a problem we could leave. He wouldn’t listen at all!”

Wooyoung was barely listening to Mingi’s rambling, too distraught over the death displayed before him. He reached out and scrolled to the next panel that showed a black-hooded figure standing over the corpse of San. A knife was gripped in the man’s hand, blood dripping down the blade. 

“Who is he? Did dad tell you that?” Maybe San could get some information as why his dad would do this.

“No he didn’t tell us. It was the last thing your dad drew before disappearing last night.”

“Maybe he had second thoughts about killing him. Maybe he just went out on a walk to clear his head.” Wooyoung could only wish this to be the reality instead of the one that currently graced his eyes. 

Mingi only frowns in pity and shakes his head. “No. I’m pretty sure I saw him smiling as he drew these last night. He was happy about killing him. I’m sure of it.” 

Why was he happy about killing off his own lead character? It made no sense to Wooyoung. I mean, his fans would be so angry if they found out about this. Heck, he was angry about it. Wait-

“What if one of the fans got wind of this and tried to kidnap him?” Mingi gasped at the question directed at him and tripped over himself to get out of the room shouting a, “I’m going to call the cops” behind his shoulder.

This left Wooyoung alone in his dad’s office. Just him and the picture he wanted to see least in the world. That might be an over exaggeration, but he was truly disappointed this is what his dad actually wanted from the story. It made no sense. Him and his dad used to sit around the living room table, eating take-out chicken and talking about San like he was a hero. He was supposed to represent strength and righteousness, so why would his father kill him? 

Wooyoung looked around at the scramble of papers with a thought that they might hold any clues to why. However, his eyes fall on a very specific looking photo. It was a picture of a demon-like god holding a frail human in his hand. Dangling the human over his mouth in order to eat him. Why was this on his dad’s desk? Flipping it over only confused him more. On the back in his father’s handwriting was, “Rather than be devoured, I will devour.” Was his dad in some weird cult now? Is that why he’s uselessly killing his own characters? 

Wooyoung suddenly tensed up in the middle of his thoughts, fear suddenly coursing through his body. While he was busy with the picture, he had not noticed the hand reach out behind him until it was gripping his sweater. He couldn’t move for a second, his body not knowing whether to chose between fight or flight. Ever so slowly, he turned his head to see who was holding him. But before he could process that a hand was extending from his fathers’ tablet like it was embedded inside it, the hand yanked him towards the tablet and the world went dark.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
In the next second, the world was literally being sketched in around him. Black and white lines flew by connecting and stitching together to create the world and ground he walked on. Color slowly filled in the spaces and slowly everything that was once a sketch became real life. He was standing on a skyscraper, the black night sky stretching the sky above him. He lifts his foot with the intention of stepping towards the edge of the building, but something trips him the minute he does so. 

It was a body. A bloody body was laying on the ground in front of him. A stab wound adorned the chest of the man who looks suspiciously familiar. Before Wooyoung could process any other thought, he was already moving. He reached out and checked the pulse on his neck; still beating. Wooyoung’s mind was blank as he emptied his pockets looking for anything in his lab coat that would help the situation, but all he had was his badge and a pen. His breath started picking up. Shit, what can he do, what can he do…? 

His feet were already moving by the time his brain had caught up with him. He was full-on sprinting over to the exit door and was taking the steps two at a time until he reached the floor below him. In his haste, he bumped into the pots and pans that littered the place as he skidded to a stop in front of a group of people wearing aprons and little chef hats.

“Call 911! There is a man bleeding to death on the roof. Please hurry!” Before the group of people could utter a word he had already grabbed the pair of scissors laying on the table and a towel laying on the table by the door and was running back up the steps to the man lying on the roof. When he busts open the door to the roof again and runs over to the bloody man, Wooyoung finally realizes there is a man following him. A man dressed like a waiter was right behind him as he made his way back up the flight of stairs. 

Wooyoung barely paid him any mind, as he was already pressing the towel he stole into the wound trying to slow the bleeding. He also took the scissors and cut open the shirt to find a deep red, blue and purple bruise climbing up the chest of the man. He turned to the waiter and basically screamed, “Where are we?”

The waiter stuttered over himself. “A h-hotel. Who are you?”

“A doctor.” Wooyoung’s brain was running a thousand miles a minute but still not fast enough to stop him from insulting himself. “Though I don’t have a lot of talent.”

The bleeding man jolted under Wooyoung’s hands and starts gasping for air. As he stares at the ever-growing bruise on the man’s chest he comes to a revelation. “I have to stab him.”

“What?” The waiter is super confused as Wooyoung takes the pen out of his pocket and disassembles it. 

“Oh my god, Wooyoung you are crazy. What are you doing?” Great now he’s talking to himself. A bunch of self-doubt starts running through his mind; Is he good enough for this? The man starts twitching under his grip. “I don’t know! I don’t know! They do this shit all the time in dramas! They just… do it!” At this rate he might just hyperventilate before he could help the man. 

Without another thought, Wooyoung raised his fist clutching the disembodied pen high above his head and brings it right down onto the struggling mans chest, puncturing his lung.”

The man jerked and opens his eyes, staring right back into Wooyoung’s. It felt like time slows down in that second. The man had the most beautiful eyes Wooyoung had ever seen. It was almost like he was created to be unbearably beautiful. A spark runs through Wooyoung, filling his entire body with white hot confusion. Everything felt on fire.

The paramedics finally burst through the door leading to the roof and run over to the pair that are still staring at each other in amazement. They push Wooyoung away and start treating the man’s wounds; breaking the eye contact the two had.

Wooyoung went to stand off to the side as a bunch of people start shuffling around. “Am I a genius? Oh my god, Dr. Park should have been here to see that. Am I just a naturally gifted doctor? Better in action than in practice?” 

Before he could ramble to himself any more than he already had, a man wearing a sleek, black suit starts to approach him. His voice was soft to a point Wooyoung had trouble hearing the words that came out of his mouth. “Hello, I am the manager here at Hotel Atiny.” He bowed at the waist. “Thank you for preventing a murder at my hotel. That would have been quite the trouble. If you wouldn’t mind me asking, who are you exactly? The waiter that came up with you, said you were a doctor?”

Wooyoung startles at the man’s question, quick to reach inside of his coat and hand over his business card that is spotted with blood. “I was just doing my job. Sorry, I am Jung Wooyoung, a doctor at Myungse Hospital.” 

The waiter from before runs over after Wooyoung finishes. “Sorry manager. I didn’t want to say anything till everything was sorted out but the man who was stabbed was Mr. Choi San.” The manager flails at that and runs over to the stabbed mans side, looking like his mother was killed.

Choi San? The only Choi San Wooyoung knew is one from his dad’s manhwa. Isn’t there an idol named Choi San? “No wait that Choi Seungcheol.” Then things start falling in place. His dad’s office, the tablet sitting on his desk, the picture of San with a stab wound, the man who eerily looks like his dad’s drawing. He shakes his head and looks over to the man he saved as he is getting lifted onto the stretcher. They made eye contact again and the same electrifying feeling from before fills his body. His face starts to get hot. It gets cut off once again when the paramedic team exits the rooftop, with all the crew following behind them, leaving Wooyoung alone. 

Wooyoung jumps when through the silence a letter start appearing out of the corner of his eye. It was almost like they were getting written in the air right before him. They were backwards which is why it took him a second to make out what it said. 

To be continued... 

Just as he got finished reading, everything went pitch black again.

When lights start to fill his vision again, he is back in his dad’s office, like none of that craziness ever happened. He reaches a shaky hand out and traces the lines of San’s face in the picture. 

Wooyoung lets out a tiny petrified yelp as the door opens interrupting his thoughts.

“Wooyoung!” 

“Mingi I’m so sorry I was gone for so long, but you won’t believe what just happened.”

“What you left? You weren’t gone for long I was only gone for like 5 minutes. Beside that’s not important. Your dad’s okay!”

“What he’s back?” Wooyoung was already completely distracted from the scenario before, looking behind his tall friend in hopes to see his dad.

“Not exactly… He posted the finished comic online. He hasn’t made contact yet though. But he saved San!” Wooyoung’s heart sunk and soared at the same time. “Come read it!”

Mingi ushers him out of the office and over to his desk in the living room. On the desk satmultiple colorful post-it notes reading details about the comic as well as rough sketches of the characters. It also hosted a computer and drawing tablet displaying the new webcomic his dad has supposedly just posted. Wooyoung sits down and starts scrolling. He immediately stops after the panel that he saw in his father’s room. AA familiar figure had appeared over San's dying body. Wait…. That is him. It is a drawing, but it is definitely him. That’s his hair, his coat, and that is his name on that doctor’s coat. Frame by frame it was telling the exact story he just experienced. The yelling, the stabbing of the chest, that is all what he just did. 

“That…That’s me.”


	2. Episode 2: When eyes meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooyoung is back in his world again. 
> 
> What had just happened? Where is his dad? Why is everything so confusing? Is he going crazy?
> 
> Wooyoung is getting sick of questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyo guys back again so soon.
> 
> I'll try and post again tomorrow. Sorry it flows weird at the end. There was more story I wanted to add but I also wanted it to end where it did. More will be explained in the next chapter on how Wooyoung got back. I won't ruin too much. Have fun reading and again sorry if it sucks. I'm not amazing at writing and I'm doing this for fun.
> 
> TW// Mentions of suicide.
> 
> Please heed the warning. If this triggers you please skip to after the first break. 
> 
> Thank you.

Choi San was born in 1999. He became a gold winning medalist at the Olympics by the age of 16 and only a few years later became the suspect of his family’s murder. He sat in jail for a year before he was able to appeal his sentence and be declared innocent due to lack of evidence. However, that wasn’t the end of his suffering. Once he returned to the empty house that used to host his parents, he cried for days on end, not leaving his bed for anything. Even when he finally got the courage to leave the house, people would stare and verbally berate him. He got called a murderer every time anyone saw his face. He even got beat once to an inch of his life. He lived like this for a year before he found himself at the Han River bridge. 

He could feel the cold bars of the railing against his back as his toes dangled in the cold night air. The images of his dead family at the forefront of his brain seemed to never leave. He never thought it would end like this, with his family nowhere to be seen and his heart an empty shell. No one would really care if he was gone. He held a belated memorial service for the late family once he got out of prison but the only person to show up was himself and Hongjoong. No one cared about his dead family. No one cared about him. No one was there for him now as he stared down at the dark water. 

With one last picture of his smiling family in his mind, he feels his fingers slip from the bars behind him and his body tips forward. A tear rolls of his face as the wild whips through his hair and against his skin. This was it. This is his end.

However, in the last second, right before his feet left the concrete floor, a word his dad use to utter all the time crosses his mind, “come-from-behind victory”. It was how he won his gold medal. His father told him it was his gift. 

His hand shot out and gripped the bar keeping him from tumbling down into the water. He is going to win this no matter what it takes. He is going to find the person who killed his family. Even if it is the last thing he does.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

San’s body ached as he rested in the hospital bed. God, he hated getting stabbed. The door to his private room opened to reveal one Kang Yeosang in all his glory. A pink coat draped over his shoulders matching his current hair color and the smirk that rested on his face. He starts towards San’s bed, the heels of his boots clacking on the floor beneath him.

“I searched everywhere for him but there is no word. I couldn’t find even a trace. There’s something off about him. I’ve looked, there is no such place as Myungse Hospital and his email on the card is fake.” Yeosang threw the business card into the bed. “You should give up on him. He might have even been an accomplice.”

“No, he isn’t.” San just rolled his eyes at the insinuation. He needs to find that man.

“You don’t even have memory of the attack. How would you even know?”

“I just have a gut feeling. Find him. I think he holds the key to my life.” 

From the couch across the room, a coffee cup drops and shatters on the ground. There sat Jongho, San’s right-hand man. He was coughing into his hand.

“You just think he’s pretty.” 

If San didn’t know any better, it almost sounded like Yeosang was jealous.

“No, I don’t!”

“Sure, you don’t playboy.”

San turned to his best friend across the room. “Jongho-ah~, I’ve never heard an assistant who talks to their superior like this. Have you?” Jongho just ignores his bosses whining, going back to the newspaper in front of him.

“Why do you care so much about him then, huh?” Yeosang questions and crosses his arms across his chest.

“I told you. He holds the key to my reason for existing.”

“That makes no sense. Your parents falling in love and making a baby is the reason for your existence.” Yeosang scoffs and turns away abruptly, walking for the door of his hospital room.

“Make sure the police sketch artist doesn’t make him to pretty or they’ll never find him.” Yeah, San that’ll definitely fool them.

Jongho laughs from his seat on the couch. “He must’ve been really pretty.”

San pointedly ignores his two best friends and stares down at the business card. “Jung Wooyoung. Where are you?” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Park bursts through the door of the resident’s office. “Explain to me in words that I can understand why the hell your father wrote you into his own comic? How could someone like you save San’s life? Did you ask him to do that? You ruined a masterpiece of a comic!” His eyes were a little crazed as he looked down at his co-worker.

Wooyoung could barely listen to his superior though and ends up just pushing the sputtering doctor out of the room. He could hear him yelling through the door.

“Think Wooyoung, think.” He doesn’t know how to process anything that is happening right now. Nothing seems real at the moment and he hasn’t been able to sleep since the night before. He pulls out his phone and swipes to call Mingi. Maybe he has a clue what the hell is going on.

“That is me. That is me.” That’s all he could say over and over to Mingi once he picked up the call. 

“Yes, that is you Wooyoung-ah. The story is really taking a weird turn. I still haven’t heard from your father, so I don’t know where he’s drawing these from.”

“He’s not drawing them Mingi. It’s just happening, ever since San didn’t die. I know I sound nuts, but San is alive and looking for me! The world of _Ateez_ exists! The world where San lives exists!”

“Your right. You do sound crazy.”

“I saw him! I saved his life.” He hangs up the phone abruptly. Mingi is never going to believe him anyways. He just turns back to the monitor and sighs. “Why are you looking for me? Why am I the key to your existence?”

Wooyoung picks up one of the issues out of many of _Ateez_ off his desk and turns to a page with his father’s artwork of his childhood crush thrown across it. San is everything Wooyoung could ever want in a person; strong-willed, extroverted, and not to mention just beautiful. He remembers seeing the initial concept sketch on his dads’ tablet on one of the weekends his mom allowed him to see his father. He had fallen instantly. From then on, he was always begging his mom to let him stay over at his dads so he could watch him work. Even took to drawing himself, coming up with imaginary characters to escape the world around him. Now don’t get him wrong, he always understood that San wasn’t a real person. It was just a child’s dream. That was until recently. He couldn’t get that man’s face out of his mind. How beautiful it had been even with the little bit of blood drying on his cheek and a gaping wound in his side. 

His phone rang, interrupting his slow descent into his thoughts. Why was Mingi calling again? Wooyoung thought he made it clear when he hung up that he did not want to talk. 

All he could hear once he answered the call, even with the phone not fully to his ear, was Mingi screaming on the line. It took Wooyoung a second to even figure out what he was saying. “Teacher is back!”

Wooyoung does not spare the other artists even a glance when he bursts through the door to his dad’s house. Just took himself straight to the work study he knew his dad would be holed up in. 

“Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was?” Wooyoung could almost feel himself start to hyperventilate out of relief for finally seeing his dad alive.

“I went somewhere.” His father looked like he hasn’t slept for days, the bags under his eyes an even deeper purple than they usually were. 

“Where?!”

But his dad just continued to ignore him instead asking, “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”

“What are you talking about? Why would I be hurt?” Did his dad know he went into the comic? Would he believe him? Wooyoung almost didn’t believe himself but the memory was still burned into his mind. “Nevermind. Look, Mingi told me you were going to kill off San?”

“Yes, I thought about it. So, instead of ending the novel, I think all I needed to do is add a new character. Freshen up the story a little bit. I couldn’t really think of another one, so I just used you. Sorry, I didn’t ask before.” He wouldn’t look up into Wooyoung’s eyes. It was obvious he was lying.

“You really drew that? Like you were the one who drew me in last night?” The air between the two got more tense as the seconds past. Wooyoung couldn’t help but doubt. 

“Who else would have if not me?” His eyes finally jumped straight to his son. Wooyoung’s words obviously pushed a nerve there. It was like his dad was almost threatening him. “Either way, I’m starting to get sick of this. I just want it to end soon so I can rest.” The warning in his tone made it obvious he was dismissing Wooyoung. But before he could turn and leave, his father spoke up again. “Do you of an easy poison that would be available in a hospital?” Well, that was worrying.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

San couldn’t get to sleep. Ever since he got put into the hospital, he couldn’t sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Every time he closed his eyes, he could only see the blurry face of his attacker and anger would course through him. Jongho sat beside him, sprawled out on the couch and San had nothing better to do than just sit and watch his friend sleep. The hospital was so boring. He would whine but there was no one to listen to him. 

A few seconds past before the door to his room opens and a petite nurse enters. “It’s time for your night medication.” He just nodded, bringing a finger to rest on his lip to signal to be quiet, pointing to Jongho. The nurse just smiled and nodded getting to work. San barely paid attention. They did this every night, came in and gave him the necessary injection. They have been weaning off the pain medication slowly after his first night here. 

Everything happens so fast. It was all over before San could even process what was happening. His door burst open again, showing the man that saved his life not but a few days prior. Wooyoung scrambled across the room grabbing the needle that was pushed into his drip, ripping it out. Jongho jumps out of his sleep and takes a second to look at the situation before him before he rushes to the nurse’s side, taking a tight grip on Wooyoung’s hand that held the needle. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“That needle contains potassium. She was trying to poison him!”

The nurse immediately runs for the door, tripping to get out of the room. It was obvious she was guilty. Only guilt people run to leave the scene of the crime. Jongho quickly ran after her. Wooyoung turned to the man laying in the bed in front of him. “Are you okay? Did she inject it already?” Their eyes catch and neither could look away, that white hot feeling coming back into both of their veins.

“How did you know she was going to poison me?”

“Uh…” Before Wooyoung could answer or even take another breath, the door to the room ripped open again, revealing a doctor. Wooyoung decided now was good as any to try and slip away but before he could, San grasps onto the sleeve of his lab coat. 

“Jung Wooyoung…” He voice sounded like he got reunited with his fiance who went away for military enlistment.

“Jung Wooyoung? Pfffft who’s that? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name before in my life. Me? Jung Wooyoung? Haha funny…” Yes, that was very smooth. Definitely will trick him.

“Jung Wooyoung. I finally meet you. We had a hard time finding you because of the hospital on your business card.” 

“Oh, that? That was the hospital I used to work at... before it closed. I’m currently unemployed.” Wooyoung winced when that last word left his mouth. Nothing more attractive to say to a man you’ve been crushing on since a pre-teen than that you are unemployed.

“That still doesn’t explain how you knew she was going to poison me.”

The doctor who had been silent during their conversation up until this point coughed, interrupting them again. “Um, sorry Mr. Choi. That’s what I am here to discuss. Your bodyguard informed us just now. I am so sorry one of my nurses would act this way. If there is anything, we can do to correct this mistake please let me know.” As the doctor bowed at the waist, the door to his room opened yet again. It seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. 

Yeosang ran into the room, immediately bee-lining over to his friends’ side, not even noticing the other two in the room. “Oh my god San. Are you okay? Jongho just called me.”

Wooyoung immediately recognized the new person in the room. Kang Yeosang was the second lead in the story. He and San had been friends since high school and Yeosang was the first person he hired when he created his business. On the blogs he frequently visits for the fandom, it seemed that everyone and their mothers shipped the two. In fact, the fans seemed to be split on the opinion. Half said that it was obvious that Yeosang had feeling for the other while the other half said it was just brotherly love. You know, the usually bickering between fans. Wooyoung kind of liked the ship. They looked cute together. Kind of like they just fit. 

The other friend entered the room then. Wooyoung recognized him as Choi Jongho, San’s other high school friend turned bodyguard. The space in the room was quickly vanishing as it seemed San had a never ending stream of people enter his room. 

The space fell quiet as everyone adjusted to the crowd inside. Yeosang took this moment of silence to speak up again. “I thought you said he wasn’t pretty.” Wooyoung looked over to the other to see a sneer on his face, looking directly at him. 

San took the moment to laugh. “I never said that. What are you talking about? He is a very handsome guy.”

Wooyoung just snorted. “That’s not what you said. I quote, ‘Make sure the police sketch artist doesn’t make him to pretty or they’ll never find him.’” He immediately recognized his mistake the minute it left his mouth.

Yeosang just narrowed his eyes. “How did you know he said that?”

“Can I speak to him alone?”

That just made Yeosang more suspicious. “No, of course not! How could we trust you-” San obviously had different thoughts and cut his friend off. 

“Everyone can leave. I need to speak to him in private.” 

The doctor was quick to leave, glad to have a reason to leave the awkward room. The two friends however lingered, worried about the currently injured state of their friend. San just shot them a look until they got the hint and finally moved to leave. Yeosang trailing behind as Jongho pulled him outside, shutting the door behind them; leaving the two alone in silence.

“Listen San, I know you must have so many questions, but I need to ask you for something.” Might as well start off right away.

“Of course, how much do you need? You did save my life twice now.”

“No. No, I don’t need money. I just-… I need to get out of the hospital like right now, without talking to the police. You have to understand. I’ll explain everything next time we meet. Just, I can’t tell you now.”

“Why don’t you just meet with them? It’ll have your named cleared. If you don’t, they’ll suspect you to be the accomplice.”

“You know I’m not the accomplice. You know it in your gut, right? That I am safe.”

San pauses at those words, staring into the others eyes. This Wooyoung seemed to know an awful lot about who he is and how he is feeling, even when he himself did not know. “What is your deal? How do you know me so well?”

“Listen, I promise I will tell you later. Just, please! I am begging.” Wooyoung reaches out and grabs the hand of his childhood fictional crush bringing it close to him. “I need to get out of here.”

Whether it was the fear that was ever present in his eyes or the desperate tone or the way San’s heart seemed to skip a beat for a second, San just nods his head. “Okay, I will get you out of here. Just tell me we can meet once I am released.” He scrambled to the bedside table and snatched the phone off it. “Take this and answer when I call it. That’s when we can meet again.”

Wooyoung silently takes the phone and nods, breaking the eye contact that has been present since they had met.

A moment of silence stretches on before San yells out for Jongho to announce that they were done and that they can enter again. 

“Jongho, I need you to take Wooyoung out of the hospital without getting spotted by the police. Can you do that?”

“Of course, sir.” 

Wooyoung made a move to go over to the bodyguard’s side but San reached out and grabs his hand again. “One last thing.” 

Wooyoung turned back. “I take back about you not being pretty. You are very handsome.” 

Wooyoung left the room with a face as red as a tomato and his heart racing.


	3. Episode 3: Never ending questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was happening so fast for Wooyoung. He could barely process one thing before another was hitting him in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I finished this last night at like 4 in the morning since that seems to be the only time I am ever productive ever. But I wanted to wait and post it after I slept so I can read it with a clear head and make it better. It still managed to turn out shitty. I feel like my writing keeps getting worse and worse each chapter. Please forgive me. I will try better. <3 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left a comment or kudos on the fic. You are all to nice.
> 
> I hope everyone is staying safe and at home. Have a good day. And as always if you have any suggestions or writing tips please let me know. I am still learning even though I am 22 years old. You'd think I'd be better by now lol.
> 
> Kind of a filler episode, Things will start to deviate from the drama from here on out. I have an entirely different ending planned. :O

Wooyoung had to quickly leave his fathers house once he got a call from Yunho stating the Dr. Park was currently looking for him. It slightly worried him that the last thing he hold his dad was that enough potassium could theoretically kill someone. If he used that against San, Wooyoung would never forgive him. The fact his dad was lying to him got pushed to the back of his mind as he went into work. Probably a good thing he could never let himself get distracted in surgery considering the repercussions for doing such a thing. He really was already weighed down from his father trying to kill someone, he really did not have the mind to kill someone himself.

Once he got out of the scheduled surgery a success, his phone rang again. What did his dad do this time? Honestly, Wooyoung hasn’t been able to sleep for the past 24 hours and no matter how used to it he was because of med school and working night shifts, his patience was starting to wear thin.

“What Mingi?” He didn’t mean to snap at his friend, but he was done with everything that had to deal with Ateez. If it meant that San had to die for him to get some sleep, he was this close to just killing him himself.

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to bother you…” Mingi started to whisper down the line. “It’s just that teacher is at it again. He’s trying to kill San this chapter. I was wondering if you could convince him to not do it. I don’t want him to yell at me again.”

“Fucking hell.” He quickly hung up on Mingi without even a goodbye and pulled up his dad’s number. He answered after the first few rings and without letting him to even say hello, “Why does San have to die?”

“Listen Wooyoung, I know you have a weird attachment to the characters in my book, but I need you to not meddle with this. It has to be done.” His dad’s voice was sharp in a way it had never been before. Tears started to prick the corners of his eyes. Weird? Attachment? Did his dad really think like that? 

“I just don’t understand. It would make the entire story pointless. San never got revenge for his parents’ death. That was the entire reason he stayed alive! There is no point of killing him before that. He was just saved two chapters ago! It makes literally no sense!” Both of them were getting heated way to fast.

“So, why did you do such a stupid thing?!” Silence fell over the line. Wait? So, his dad knew he saved San?

“What do you mean? Are you saying you didn’t draw that chapter?” His father stayed quiet on the other side of the line. “You’ve seen him too, haven’t you? The real Choi San.”

It stayed quiet for a second more before, “That’s why he has to die!”

Wooyoung’s anger reached its peak. “That is murder! You are killing another person dad. How could you be so senseless and cruel-” His rant was cut short by the world going black.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything had happened so fast that once Jongho had escorted him out of the hospital without any trouble. Wooyoung had no idea what to do next. Why wasn’t he returning to his world? It would probably happen any second, right? 

But as the minutes past nothing seemed to be happening, Wooyoung was starting to lose hope as more and more cars passed by his crouched body. After an hour of sitting on the side of the sidewalk and getting lost in his thoughts, he stood up. Hell, if he was stuck in this world, the least he could do is find a place to sleep. He franticly started patting his coat down, sighing in relief when he found his wallet. 50,000 won. That should be enough to find a cheap place to stay right?

He might as well walk around until he found somewhere. Wooyoung took his coat off. He was still in his clothes from the day before. His baby blue sweater and an old ratty jeans he threw on for work. He was going to have to sleep in his outfit. Gross. Hopefully he will be able to go back to his world when he went to sleep. If he woke up still here, he had no idea how he was going to survive. 

After a few minutes of walking down the street, Wooyoung stumbled across a motel that had rooms for 22,000 won a night. The room he got was no bigger than his bathroom back at his home, but at least it was warm. The only thing situated in the small room was a twin sized bed adorned with semi-white sheets and a bedside table that held a bible and a wired phone. Wooyoung could not care any less and falls face first onto the bed and passes out.

When he comes to next, it is to the sound of a ringing phone. Who’s calling him? Without even opening his eyes, he answered the call as he tries to carefully balance the phone on his cheek without holding it.

“Nnn.”

“Oh, um, is this Jung Wooyoung?”

“Yeah, who is this?”

“This is Choi San. The man you saved twice. You have a lot of people calling you?”

Wooyoung’s eyes snapped open and he scrubbed the drool dried on his face like San would be able to even see it. “Oh! Sorry no, of course not. Is there something you need?”

“I just got released from the hospital. I figured it was time you gave me an explanation.”

“You got released already?” There was no way his wound was healed after being in the hospital for only a few days. He couldn’t have been in there for more than a week. This world had some weird medical habits.

“Already? I thought a month of bed rest was long enough… The wound is healing up fine.”

“A month!?!”

“Uh, yes. A month… Are you okay?”

There was no way Wooyoung just slept for a month. Has it been a month in his world? Has he just been missing without any notice? God, he prays he did not get fired for something as stupid as this. How had he not gotten thrown out of this room? He only paid for one night…

“Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”

Wooyoung wasn’t going to question it. He has far bigger problems. Like, ‘Why wasn’t he able to get back to his world?’ and ‘How is he supposed to explain this to San?’.

After thirty minutes, San sent a text saying he was in front of the motel. Wooyoung walked out to a sight he was not prepared for. It was like he was in a drama, though he really shouldn’t be surprised considering he was literally inside his father’s manhwa right now. San was in a designer suit with a pair of black sunglasses resting on his nose. Below him was a brand-new car that Wooyoung could only distinguish as a black Maserati by the symbol on the front. He took a minute to grasp the situation in front of him. Honestly, he might have teared up by how beautiful it was. Everything from the car to San was sleek and expensive looking. He had forgot that San was the owner of a multi-billion won company.

San finally noticed the gaping boy staring at him after a minute. A small smirk falling over his features. “You gonna get in?” He got up from the hood of the car and sat in the drivers’ seat. Wooyoung stumbled over himself trying to get his feet to move over to the car. San let out a giggle as Wooyoung opened the door and sat down. 

A silence fell over the two. Wooyoung had no idea what to say. I mean, he barely knows this dude. Other than you know what the manhwa said. Does he have a personality outside of that? I mean if he was just a character…

“You’re wearing the same clothes.” San pulled him out of his thoughts.

“What?”

“You’re outfit. It’s the same that you wore a month ago.” San kind of looked horrified. “Do you have anything else to wear? Have you been staying only here?” He looked over Wooyoung’s shoulder to the shitty hotel San has stayed the night at.

“Um….” Wooyoung had no idea what to say. He would sound crazy no matter what he said.

San just starts the car, not waiting for a reply and swerves onto the road. 

“Where are we going?” It was a valid question Wooyoung had thought but San didn’t seem to want to give a reply. 

“How did you know to save me?” Wooyoung took a note from San and stayed quiet as well. He truly didn’t expect the other so soon. He had no idea what he was going to tell him. Maybe he could get out of this. If he could figure out how to get out of this world and into his own, he wouldn’t have to explain shit.

They pull up in front of a store before the awkwardness could settle in again. The building had wide glass plane glass that reached for the sky and served as the front with a golden sign reading ‘Versace’ situated just in sight of the street. “What are we doing here?”

“It’s summer and you are wearing a sweater. Come on get out.” San made to get out of the car even at the sound of the others protest. 

“I can’t afford Versace, dude. Not all of us are rich.”

San opened the side of Wooyoung’s door, motioning for him to get out. “Did I say you were going to pay?”

“Can we just go somewhere else?” Wooyoung is not getting out of this car. He will not. At least that was his intention, but San seemed to have different thoughts and grabbed his arm pulling him until he was forced outside the fancy car. Wooyoung will never admit that he got a little hot under his collar from the manhandling. It’s just that San’s arms are ripped as hell. He could see his muscles move even under a suit jacket. Like, that has to be unfair. How could someone like this exist? Oh wait, he didn’t. Or he did? Wooyoung did not know and it as starting to give him a headache.

The inside of the store was just as fancy as Wooyoung would expect from a name brand as such. San went straight to work, finding an assistant in the store and started ordering them around. Pant’s this, shirts that. Soon, Wooyoung had his arm’s overflowing with clothes and was ushered to a private dressing room. San helped him sit the multiple outfits on the wooden bench that circled the pillar in the room. All four walls were covered in mirrors except for the door which matched the wood on the bench. Looking in the mirror, he guessed why all the patrons and store employees were giving him weird looks. He looked like a broke college kid next to San. San definitely looked like his sugar daddy, even though they were both guys and very close to the same age. He looked like shit.

He turned back to the clothes, picking up a brightly colored shirt. Then, he noticed San still standing in the room. “Um, I’m going to get dressed.”

“Yes, that is what a dressing room is used for.” 

…

He didn’t seem like he was going to move.

“Uh…So you can leave?”

“Why? I want to see how it looks on you. We’re both guys. Nothing to be self-conscious about. Unless… you know.” San looked down at his crotch and then motioned with his thumb and pointer finger very close to each other.

“Oh my god, get out of this dressing room before they have to call 119 for a murder.” San just giggled and walked out, winking at him as he passed. He takes back what he said about San not having a personality. He definitely does and he is an asshole.

“Call me if you need anything. I will be right outside.”

After the door closed Wooyoung took a moment to breathe. He needed to think of how to get back. It was not this long last time. Does it have to be the end of the chapter for him to leave? Then, does it need to end on a cliffhanger like in every comic ever? Maybe if he just did something super crazy, he could probably escape. What would be crazy enough for that to happen? Does he actually have to kill someone? Because he doesn’t think he would be capable of that. Oh, wait. He has an idea.

Wooyoung quickly gets undressed, pulling on one of the simpler and more pastel shirts and some jogger-like pants that were his style but definitely more expensive than he would ever think to buy. He also threw on some of the new sneakers they picked out before he busts out of the dressing room with confidence. He strutted over to San, who was waiting by patiently, with a fiery look in his eyes.

Wooyoung then proceeds to lift his hand and slap San across the face, leaving a red hand-print behind. If people weren’t already looking at them then, they were now. Most brought out their phones in case this situation got anymore exciting. San was stuck in surprise, with his face still thrown to the side and his mouth open in surprise. 

Why wasn’t it ending? Wasn’t that good enough for an ending? There still was not any backwards ‘To Be Continued’ sign like before. Maybe he was truly stuck here…with a guy he just slapped in the face. Fuck.

“I bought you clothes and then got slapped for it. What am I supposed to make of this? You could have just said no…” San’s voice sounded like he was pouting and honestly no one could blame him for that. But no one informed Wooyoung that a grown ass mans pout could be that cute.

Wooyoung could only respond with, “Oh my god! I am so sorry!” which truly only made the situation more confusing for San. Wooyoung turned around ready to escape but San was not having any of that and grabbed his arm before he could get to far, pulling the other towards him. Which caused Wooyoung to fall into his chest, practically being wrapped in his arms. A thought occurred to Wooyoung then.

“Oh…Maybe?” 

Wooyoung brought a hand into the back of Sans perfectly styled hair, messing up the gelled black mess on his head in the process and pulled his face down close. Their faces only an inch apart and their noses bumping together. With a hand on the others chest, he leaned up the rest of the way and brought their lips together. 

There really are no words that could describe kissing your lifelong fictional crush for the first time. It was everything and nothing like he expected it to be. He honestly was surprised the San still hasn’t pushed him away. Especially since neither were moving and kind of dead fishing it. Wooyoung pulled back from the incredibly awkward kiss to see the even more awkward atmosphere that surrounded the clothing store. Oh right, there were people watching. And Wooyoung just kissed a man in public. 

Thankfully, Wooyoung didn’t have to worry about that for long as just out of the corner of his vision he saw the unembodied words float into view. Shit, he couldn’t let San just see him blink out of existence. Wooyoung turned around and hurried into the dressing room again, this time without any protest from the other man who was frozen in shock. Just after throwing the door behind him, the world went black.

He reappears in the same spot in the hospital he left apparently just a month ago. If he was ever doubtful of the other worlds existence before he wasn’t anymore as he looked down and saw the Versace that adorns his body. 

He had just slapped and then proceeded to kiss Choi San. His dad’s manhwa character that everyone and their mothers read about in this country. Fuck.


	4. Episode 4: Single Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooyoung was lucky to have Yunho. Yunho would protect him, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. Thank you guys so much for all the kind words. I'm sorry it took me a week to post this chapter, especially since it is only like 2k words. I'll try and post again before the end of the week. I just wanted to get something out there for you guys to know im not dead. Sorry that it's short and kinda a filler episode. I did not read this over a bunch either so their is probably a lot of mistakes and bad writing. 
> 
> I am currently making a video game for the government (yes lol it's weird right?) and I have to have it done in two weeks and I'm grinding super hard right now to get it done. Updates may be a little short/take longer to come due to this. 
> 
> Anyways, I'll let y'all read. Hope everyone is staying safe and quarantining. <3

The world really was an unkind place. I mean, how was he supposed to show his face at work now? Dr. Park would kill him. He did not even want to know how the rest of the world reacted to the story now being very gay. Here is the thing, Ateez has been one of the most popular manhwas in South Korea for the past 2 years. It put his dad on the map as one of the most known artists today. Ateez is a household name. Everyone knew about Choi San. And as stated prior, the world is an unkind place. Most of Korea would not be thrilled to find out their most beloved character just got kissed by a boy. He would most likely be written off as a villain for forcing himself onto the other, giving a bad rep to a culture that was already condemned. Why did he have to do that? Like, could he think before acting for once in his life. He kind of forgot how the world would react when he was in the story. His mind to caught up on the fact he did not know how to get out. Damn his Sagittarius mind and it’s need to know everything. If only he was born a Virgo. This would never happen to a Virgo.

The hallway to the surgery room he was currently standing in front of was eerily quiet. Wooyoung had no idea for how long he was gone for. I mean a month had passed in comic, so had a month passed here as well? Had anyone even known he was gone? Surely at least his coworkers did, right? That would be depressing if he were gone for over a month and no one even noticed. 

Wooyoung made his way over to the office area for the residents. Thankfully, he did not meet his boss on the way there. He might have had a panic attack if he had to listen to his boss yell at him for kissing a boy. He got that enough as a kid in school.

Really all Wooyoung wanted to do is step into the sleep room in the back and face plant on one of the beds, even if he apparently slept a month in the other world. Why did he want to come back again? Over there he had a cute boy buying him clothes and here all he had was a headache and a boss who wants to castrate him. I mean, he could not stay in the other world forever, right? He didn’t know the rules of this, it’s not like it’s everyday you suddenly get thrusted into a different dimension. He might as well look at the new update while he is waiting for his funeral. 

Wooyoung went over to his desk. At first glance, he could not see his laptop as it was covered in reports and pens. It was times like this, where he was struggling to find anything he needed, that Wooyoung wished he were more organized. That and when his mom yelled at him to clean his room as a kid. 

After about five minutes of straightening up his desk, he finally unearthed his brick of a laptop. Every doctor at the hospital was given old Asus to do work on at their desk at the beginning of residency and when Wooyoung said they were bricks, he meant it. Each of them had to weight at least 15 pounds. It was like carrying around a small child, which is why he kept it on his desk instead of lugging it around.

It took about a decade and a half before it finally booted up and he could log onto the website that hosted his dad’s comic. He saw the little notification on the top right of the page indicating that a new release had just been posted about thirty minutes ago. Fuck. It felt like his heart was trying to escape his body. His mouse hovered over the notification for a minute before he bit the bullet and clicked. The page loaded ever so slow. 

It followed how Wooyoung had remembered it to be, saving San for the second time and escaping the hospital. Then San picking him up….and then? There it was. Wooyoung kissing San. San’s eyes were wide as Wooyoung had his lips pressed against the other. In front of all South Korea to see. At least he was drawn nice. In fact it looked way more romantic and cute than he remembered the awkward kiss being.

Wooyoung was quick to turn to Twitter, typing his name into the search bar. There popped up everything he had ever dreaded. Article after article of the chapter and tweets upon tweets of people bickering. Most were wondering why this new character was suddenly in the story. Others were happy San was finally getting a romance. While others thought that it was not a romance at all; that it was something to do with the plot and his dad would never ruin his characters name. Some were just plain angry. The room suddenly became unbearably small and all his breathe left his body. Shit, he was having a panic attack. His chest burned as he felt his eyes become cloudy. He shoved his head between his legs. Come on…One…Two… Shit. He was trying to calm down but every time he tried to count his breaths the image of him kissing San would just pop into his head and the thought of the whole world hating his guts. Just as the door behind him opened, Wooyoung’s world turned black for the third time. 

Except when he woke up this time, it was not to the face or world his dad created, but to a face he was very familiar with. Yunho.

“Hey, you’re up.” Yunho always had the best smile to Wooyoung. It was always so kind. When he first joined the hospital little over a year ago, Yunho had only joined a month prior to him. They immediately gravitated to each other, making quick friends. Yunho was Wooyoung’s only friend to be honest. So, when their eyes met, a sense of calm washed over him. At least he had his friend. 

Wait, did he pass out? Wooyoung quickly sat up and immediately regretted it. A pounding headache forming in the base of his skull and Yunho was quick to support his back, making sure he did not fall back down. “Woah, be careful.”

Wooyoung almost had a panic attack again, something he thought he had under control these days. Shit, the whole world knew he was gay. Shit, shit, shit. Yunho had a comforting hand on the small of his back, rubbing gentle circles into his skin and bringing Wooyoung out of his mind. “Hey, calm down. It’s going to be okay Woo. Can you stand? I’ll bring you home.”

“I have work though….”

“Don’t worry. I already talked to Seonghwa. We all know you’ve been over working yourself. You passed out, it’s okay if you rest for a day.”

“Did he seem mad?”

“No, Woo. He seemed worried.” Yunho was talking in a low voice, alleviating the headache just a little, with a soft smile on his face. Wooyoung hated when people treated him weak but there was something about Yunho that always made him want to be doted on. 

Wooyoung had to have help getting out of the bed, his legs wobbling the minute his feet touched the ground. Yunho kept an arm around his shoulders, supporting most of his weight as they walked out of the sick room. They got out to the employee parking in no time and the other lead them to the black Kia parked near the front. Yunho was slow to lower Wooyoung into the passenger seat, being careful not to smack his head on the door, before rounding the car and slipping into the driver’s seat. “You wanting to go to your mom or dads?”

Wooyoung gave him puppy eyes, “Actually…Can we go to yours? I don’t really want to deal with my parents right now.” 

Yunho was quick to weaken against his stare. Not like he would refuse him anyways. “Of course.” Yunho reached across Wooyoung, grabbing for the seat belt and pulled it across the others body. The comforting scent of vanilla from Yunho’s body wash seeped into Wooyoung’s senses. “You good?” Wooyoung knew Yunho was being overly affectionate right now. Maybe he knew something had happened other than being overworked. Maybe his friend saw it in his face. He probably looked like shit, even if he got new clothes.

He somehow fell asleep during the short 15-minute drive from the hospital to Yunho’s apartment. He did not even wake up when they parked and the other picked him up from the passenger seat into his arms. Just shoved his face into Yunho’s chest taking in more of the familiar vanilla. He only let his eyes crack open when he was laid down onto a bed, his body falling into the soft cushion. He whined when he felt the arms that held him leave, not wanting to be without the warmth.

“Lay with me.”

“I don’t kn-“ Yunho looked conflicted. Wooyoung had no idea why though. He just wanted to cuddle with his friend.

“Please.” Wooyoung flashed his puppy eyes again and pouted, adamant on getting what he wanted. Yunho just sighed and moved to lay down next to him. 

“Are you gonna tell me what happened and why you are wearing a 1,000,000 won outfit?”

Wooyoung didn’t speak for a minute.

“Did you read the new chapter to my dad’s comic?”

“No, you know I don’t like that stuff. I hate reading. Is that why you fainted? What did your dad do?” 

“He didn’t do anything… Let’s just say that life is going to be a little difficult for me from here on out.”

“Well, you know I have your side. Don’t worry too much.”

“I know. Thanks Yun.”

“Of course. Now get some rest. You are exhausted.” Wooyoung closed his eyes and smiled when he felt a pair of lips press into his forehead. He felt safe. Here in his friends’ room and arms. Like the rest of the world could not hurt him. He could allow himself the comfort for now. He would deal with the repercussions of him not thinking when he woke up. I mean, it’s not the end of world. Nobody but Seonghwa knew it was him in the comic anyways. He would be fine. Right? The world turned dark for the fourth time.


	5. Episode 5: Gunshot means "I love you" right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> San is confused. Wooyoung is confused. You are also confused. There is no explaination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. Sorry it's late but the next chapter is here. Don't have much else to say. I went back and edited the past chapters since they were kinda disgusting to read. Not much has changed other than grammar and writing. Nothing story-wise has change but go back and reread it if you want. Anyways stay save and have a good day!
> 
> Also I just got hired at a new job so I might be a little busy in the coming week. I will try to have at least one update a week though. We will see lol.

San woke up to the beautiful voice of Dean’s “I'm not sorry” in his ears. Even though this was his favorite singer and song, he could not help the growl of annoyance escape his throat. Who was waking him before 9 am? It only took a glance at the caller for all the anger to leave his body. Yeosang knew only to call him in case of emergencies. San was quick to pick up the call after that as he sat up and ran a hand through his bed head. 

“Yeosang? What’s wrong?” 

“Sanie, I think you need to get here.” San was already throwing the comforter off and rushing to his closet to shove a shirt and jacket onto his body.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“It’s not that. That man, what was his name? Wooyoung? He is found in a shop in Gangnam.” San paused in his haste to get dressed. “An employee found him this morning; he wouldn’t wake up. They called the office because they remembered you with him last week.”

“Hold on I will be there as fast as I can. Tell them to not open the shop until I get there. And for the love of god make sure the police don’t see him.” San finished shoving his legs into a pair of joggers and rushed to the elevator, motioning for Jongho to follow. His faithful bodyguard must have just got there taking over for the day shift. His face showed shock, not used to seeing his boss out of his room before 10 am on a good day.

“Is there something wrong?” 

“Just follow behind me, take one of my other cars. Don’t worry it’s not anything bad.” He added that at the end because with all the shit he gets into on the regular basis, Jongho probably thinks someone died.

And thus, he started the long decent from the 25th floor. It did not take him long once he reached the lobby to get to his car and make his way to Gangnam as fast as he could without getting pulled over. He did not have time to deal with the police when he did not know when the mysterious boy would disappear into thin air next. He quickly parked in the middle of the street, not caring about the possible parking tickets now that he was at the place he needed to be.  
The doors to the shop were locked when he walked up, so he had to knock on the glass door like he was walking up to a friend’s house and not a very expensive Versace store in the richest part of town. Yeosang’s face was quick to make an appearance. He opened the door for San and rushed to keep up with his large steps towards the back room. There on the sofa lay the man that has been in his dreams for the past week. A man that literally disappeared in front of his eyes like a magic show.

Jongho scurrying in behind them, taking his position by the door. San turned to the workers with the most charming smile he could muster while bowing. “I’m so sorry for any inconvenience this caused your store. I will pay back for all the sales you lost in the hour you were closed.” 

The employee, Sana as the name card on her shirt read, bowed back as a blush spread across her face. “It really is no problem, sir. We just wanted to make sure you and your husband were okay. Especially since the fight of last week.”

Yeosang seemed to choke on thin air behind San. “Husband?” He scoffed, a mix between disbelief and outrage. 

San ignored his friend behind him. “I will compensate you greatly for any inconvenience. I would appreciate this if we could keep this out of the media.”

“Of course, Mr. Choi.”

San nodded at the employee one last time before motioning for Jongho to pick up the knocked-out man on the couch and ordered him to bring Wooyoung back to his penthouse. Yeosang and San had to stay behind to finalize what San had said to the employee, Sana, earlier about compensation. San flirting his way into making sure that neither the press nor police found out about this incident. Oh, the catastrophe everyone would have if the press heard that he was allegedly “married”, or the police found the man they had been looking for in the past month or so.

After finally leaving the store, Yeosang grabbed San’s wrist as they approach the car. “Wait… San.” San turned back to look at Yeosang and saw the worry that clouded his face. “What are you doing with that man? Why didn’t you deny that he was your husband?”

“It’s easier for us if he is my husband to that woman. She won’t interfere anymore. Don’t worry about it.” San was quick to brush off the insinuation that underlined Yeosang’s words, laughing away his friends feeling’s that were only invisible to him. 

“Then why won’t you take him to the police then? He could be trying to kill you!”

“He won’t, Yeo.”

“You don’t know-“ Yeosang’s voice trailed off as San reached out and put a hand on his head and looked directly into his eyes. 

“Listen, I know you’re worried for me, but you need to trust me right now. Can you do that?” Yeosang could do little more than nod, trapped inside San’s eyes. “Thank you, now I need to go. I currently have a suspected murderer in my house.” A smile spread across San’s face as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the crown of the other’s head. He then turned around and rushed to get in the car, not noticing the blushing man he was leaving behind. Yeosang’s feet didn’t more for a good 15 minutes and his heart didn’t calm down for the next hour.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wooyoung opened his eyes in a bed that not but 6 hours prior another man had done the same in. It had to be the biggest and comfiest bed he had ever had the pleasure of experiencing. A bed that was notably not Yunho’s. Wait- Where the fuck is this? Wooyoung’s back sprang off the mattress. He did not remember much of last night after falling asleep in Yunho’s car; only a faint recollection of him and Yunho talking in a bed. He must have taken him to a friends’ place instead. Though, Wooyoung had no idea what kind of friend Yunho had that had this much money.

The room seemed to be as big as his apartment. One wall was covered in glass looking out onto the city below, the sun shining straight into his face. A spiral staircase sat on the opposite side of the room leading to a little loft filed to the brim with books. Everything was accented with black, white and red. It was like he woke up as a chaebol’s wife. Looking around he noticed three doors. One must lead to the bathroom as he could hear a hair dryer being used from within. If the sleep that clouded his mind would go away, maybe he would have noticed the faint familiarity that he associated with the room. 

Wooyoung flung off the comforter, walking over to the noise. “Hey, Yunho? Where did you take me after I fell asleep?” He opened the door and immediately froze in shock. There, on the other side of the door, was a very naked Choi San.

Wooyoung’s eyes could not look away, staring at the man in front of him in all his glory. San was also frozen, eyes wide with the hand dryer held in his fist lifted up. San was ripped. Like ripped, ripped. The muscles in his arm and stomach were pressed against his skin in a way that really affected Wooyoung. This had never happened when it was only drawn. Well, that was a lie, but he never got as hot to this extent when it was not directly in front of him. Wooyoung could not help that his eyes drifted lower but then he noticed that he was just standing there, ogling at the other and trying to look at his dick. He let out a small shriek and turned around to quickly leave, ignoring the bright laughter that followed. 

San came out a few minutes later. His hair completely dry and a towel around his waist. Which meant that his body was still out for Wooyoung to see. His face would not calm down from the bright red it was when he first entered the bathroom. Would it kill San to wear clothes for once? Why was he always getting his shirt ripped off in fights? It was just indecent.

“Well good morning to you too, sweetheart.” San winked at him and headed to the closet leaving the door open so that Wooyoung still had sight on him. “Hey, who’s Yunho? Are you already cheating on me?” San dropped his towel, grabbing a pair of pants off one of the hangers. Wooyoung was quicker to look away this time. “You literally just kissed me a week ago and you already have a new boyfriend?”

“Do you have no shame?” How does someone act like this outside of a comic? Wait…

“I wasn’t the one who kissed the other in public.”

Wooyoung really wished the blood in his body would go somewhere other than his head, but at least it wasn’t lower. “Oh, yeah…Sorry about that.” He was suddenly shy. The confidence that came out when he kissed the other was nowhere in site. He felt like he should at least apologize for forcing a kiss on San. “You probably don’t want to be kissed by a man, no less in public.”

San just laughed, walking back into the room, still shirtless, and sitting next to him on the bed. “Don’t worry about it. And why wouldn’t I want to be kissed by a beautiful man?” 

Beautiful? Oh no the blood was rushing to his head again. Was San gay? His dad definitely did not characterize him that way. Does San have a personality outside of what his dad had made up? Is that even possible?

“I mean… It’s not really normal.”

“What’s not normal?” San tilted his head in confusion. It made Wooyoung’s heart melt a bit since it made the other look like a puppy.

“Kissing a guy? In public?”

“I get not wanted to show affection in public, but I have no idea why your so hung up on you having a dick.” San gasped, letting out a sympathetic whine, “Didn’t you already know that? If not, I am sorry about your sudden revelation but at this point in your life you should have probably already known that.”

“Aren’t you afraid people would be mad at you?”

“Why would they be mad at me? For kissing a guy? Why would they be mad about that?”

Does homophobia not exist in Ateez? I mean it would make sense. It is a fictional world. It does not have to follow the rules of reality per se. Wooyoung really did not want to leave now that he is back. Not only does he feel a weird connection with the man in front of him but now he was free to be gay as well without the majority of society hating him for it? Fucking sign him up. 

“Nevermind. Forget I said anything. In fact, forget I ever even did that okay?”

“Then why did you do it?” Every emotion seemed to flee San’s face.

“What?”

“If you’re just going to take it back, why did you ever do it?” San leaned over Wooyoung’s body, searching for something under the pillow beside him. The breath that flowed against his cheek reminding him of a similar scenario that happened last night with a different man.

“I mean- Uh…”

“You should stick to your actions if you are going to do them.” San pulled out a gun and stood up, leveling it with Wooyoung’s head. “Now, are you going to tell me how you know every time someone is trying to kill me?”  
Now probably was not the time for Wooyoung to remember just who was standing in front of him. After San had left prison and his brush with suicide, he decided to find the killer of his family at all costs. With the money his parent’s left him and all that he saved up; he finally went to college. It pained him knowing that his dad was always against it. Always wanting him to continue with volleyball above all else. But San was done with volleyball, he wanted to do something else with his life. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering with a minor in business. Hongjoong had helped him with opening his business, Ateez. 

Ateez was most known for its news channel that came on every night, but San was only interested in one aspect: the cold cases department. What set Ateez apart from the entertainment industry was its specialty in solving cold cases that police had given up on. San had hired multiple detectives to track and solve them in hopes he would somehow find evidence for his family’s murder. Once the first few cases were solved, people started to take notice to the new business that seemed to pop up out of nowhere. They especially started to pay attention when they found out the founder was no one other than Choi San himself, the former Olympic gold medalist that was jailed for killing his family. Over time, as more and more cases were being solved, the public was convinced San did not do it and idolized him as they had once done in the past. Even the police helped in any way they could. However, San did not care about any of that. His focus was on the killer. In the latest chapter’s it seemed as he was getting close to the truth and the killer had taken notice. A black hooded figure trying to kill him at any given moment, but San with all his prowess and skill would evade it every time. That was, until recently. When he first opened Ateez, he was quick to hire Jongho as his body guard and made sure to keep himself armed and ready at all times, even though it’s illegal.

Wooyoung knew that San kept a gun under his pillow just in case he would need it. That did not stop the shock and immediate fear that flooded him at the sight of said guns barrel positioned in front of his face.

Wooyoung was quick to raise his hands in surrender. “Woah! Dude! Can you not point a gun at me?”

San just narrowed his eyes more. “Woah! Dude! Can you finally explain yourself for once?” San mocked back in a voice that did not sound like Wooyoung at all. “If not, then it seems like we’re at a stand still here.” 

Wooyoung did not know what to do. It is not like he can just explain to San that he’s a fictional character. He would never believe him and even if he did that would just be rude. To tell someone that they are not real and do not actually exist. 

He just needed to explain that someone had told him. Yeah, he would believe that, right? Wooyoung stood up and reached out to take San’s shoulder, but before he could move more than a foot, a shot rang out into the air. 

Wooyoung was quick to close his eyes as his body flinched from the bullet entering his shoulder. The air was filled with silence after the loud bang that surrounded them both. He waited for the pain to come but as the seconds ticked by, he felt nothing. Wooyoung opened his eyes to the glare of San. But a smirk was quick to follow as he lowered the gun. “I knew it.” 

“Wait, what?” Wooyoung looked at his shoulder where he felt the impact of a bullet, but nothing was there. Not a scratch or even a hole in his shirt.

“You aren’t real.”


	6. Episode 6: Prisoner of love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did he just get shot? What the hell? San had a lot of explaining to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, wonderful people. I kind of got obsessed with this today and spent the whole day writing. I have plotted out the rest of the fic so I'm hoping updates are gonna come faster but the rest of the chapters will be longer. At this rate the fic is gonna be around 50k words. We will see. 
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who is leaving kind comments and kudos. It really is giving me inspiration to work faster. 
> 
> If you ever want to talk about Ateez or the fic or kpop in general hit me up on my twitter @VerkwansBoyf. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy~!

Wooyoung is speechless. Did San just shoot him?

“Okay, what the fuck dude?” San moved to sit back down on the bed where he was before he decided to shoot another person.

“Did you just dude-zone me?”

“Did you just shoot me?!?”

San scoffed. “I knew it wouldn’t hurt you.”

“How the fuck did you know that?” It was almost like steam was shooting out of the side of Wooyoung’s head and it wouldn’t really shock him if it actually did considering where he was.

“My father’s killer.” Wooyoung fell silent at that, catching the others eyes. “You are just like him. Every time I get close to catching him, he disappears into thin air. No matter how many times I shoot him, he is never affected. You are exactly the same.”

“How do you know I’m not him?”

San moves closer, bringing his face only an inch away from Wooyoung’s, crowding into his space. His eyes run up and down the features of the others face that sat before him. “Because he has no face. I have seen it.” 

A moment of silence passed between them. Wooyoung’s eyes were having a hard time looking anywhere except San’s mouth. The utterly perfect par of lips was to enticing for him when they were this close. All he wanted to do is lean forward and press his mouth against the other. He really should not be thinking in such a way given the situation, but could you really blame him?

He got snapped out of his thoughts when San decided to speak again, his gaze jumping to the other’s eyes. “So, tell me Wooyoung…Who and what are you?” Woo could feel the breath across his lips every time San exhaled. How was he supposed to concentrate on anything when San is this close to his face? No human is capable of this. You could probably cut the sexual tension in the air with a knife.

Wooyoung felt himself lean in ever so slowly, letting the moment take him away into the sea of want. Right as his lips brushed over the others was when he noticed the black gun barrel pointed directly at the man’s head he was about to kiss. Without even thinking twice, he shoves San onto the bed and covers as much of the other as he can with his body. The gun shot echoing in the silent room and for a moment the world held its breath. Wooyoung felt no pain as the bullet disappeared the minute it hit his body. 

The cloaked figure behind let out a hiss. As Wooyoung moved to look at the perpetrator that tried to take San’s life all he could see is a man blink out of existence, like he was a picture on a TV and the static decided to take over his body. 

San lets out a soft chuckle that goes straight into Wooyoung’s heart. “See? This is a normal occurrence.” Wooyoung turns back to the boy underneath him, seeing the smirk ever-present. Wooyoung’s face is rushed with blood within seconds, a seemingly perpetual state when it comes to Choi San. 

The tension was back in seconds, as if it never left. As if a faceless man did not just try and shoot San. They should really be concerned about that, but they were lost in each other. Wooyoung could not move a muscle in his body as San reaches out and lays a hand across the nape of his neck, slowly bringing him down until the breath is back on his lips. All the blood that was in his face immediately spread back out into his body as San brought their mouths together. It was almost like San was made for Wooyoung. The way their mouths fit and moved together brought about instant pleasure in him. The soft almost peck quickly turned a different direction as Wooyoung surged forward and harshly kissed the boy underneath him. The once shy boy turning into a monster at the first taste of the other, ravaging his mouth and leaving San dazed and blissed out as a moan slips past the kiss. 

San reaches out a hand to grip the back of Wooyoung’s shirt, completely under the man’s control that hovers above. They could have stayed like that for hours, just tasting one another, letting hands roam under shirts and grasp at the others body. But as all good things must do, it was quick to come to an end. Not even a couple minutes passing since they started kissing, they had to pull apart. San’s phone was ringing off to the side, Dean’s voice radiating into the room. San looked like he just got hit by a train underneath Wooyoung. His mouth a bright red from all the small bites Wooyoung had left and even though the kiss was considered short, San was panting underneath him. 

San takes a second to catch back the breath he just lost before he reaches out his hand and grabs his phone, answering it just before it went to voicemail.

“Yes?”

Wooyoung cannot hear much. Just the drone of another person speaking on the other line. He sits up in San’s lap, trying to get a hold of himself. Did he just make out with Choi San? Well, make out…more like eat his face. Wooyoung never knew he could be that dominant against someone. He was always the one underneath getting eaten alive. He likes this change of pace. He also likes kissing the other. Hopefully, he will have a chance to do so again.

San moves to sit up which prompt Wooyoung to swing his leg off the others waist to stop straddling him, just kneeling beside him on the bed as he talked on the phone.

“Sure, send him up.”

San gets off the bed, running a hand through his hair and straightens out his shirt while taking a deep breath. “Yeosang is here. I’m going to go get him at the elevator. Come out if you want.” He leaves with one last smirk in Wooyoung’s direction, not helping Wooyoung’s little problem at all. 

He took a few minutes to compose himself, fixing his ruffled clothes and hair, before walking out the door. Yeosang sat next to San on the couch in the living room, the former clutching an almost empty glass of water in his hand. It did not take long for a scowl to cross Yeosang’s face when he saw the other enter. “Oh, you’re still here.”

San lifted a hand and pats Yeosang’s head. “Don’t worry Yeosangie. I have everything under control.” Wooyoung really had no right to feel jealous. He truly did not know where all these feelings are suddenly coming from. One second a man his shooting him and the next they are making out in a bed. Wooyoung’s brain was confuzzled. He needed time to process. 

“Hey, Wooyoung. Mind helping me out in the kitchen for a sec?” Wooyoung knew the smile on Yeosang’s face could mean no good. So, did San probably. But could he really say no? If he did, Yeosang would probably drag him out by his hair. So, Wooyoung just nodded, not knowing what else to do in this situation. He looks over to San for maybe a little help, but the oblivious man was distracted by the presence of his bodyguard. 

Yeosang was quick to grab his arm and almost drag him into the other room, the fake smile quickly dropping from his face.

The door swings shut behind them and a moment of silence passes before, “What do you want with San? What are you trying to do?” Yeosang did not even spare him a glace, just reaching out and grabbing the bottle of water on the counter and pouring some into his now empty glass.

“I don’t want anything from him, I swear.” Wooyoung held his hands up in surrender. He has read the comics. He knows what the other man is capable of and he really did not want anything to do with that, even though it seemed he could not die in this world.

Yeosang turns towards the other, clicking his tongue on the top of his mouth. “Well, whatever it is I want you to stay away from him. By the time we get back tonight I want you out of this apartment and to never talk to us again. Got it?”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

Yeosang’s gaze hardens and he steps into Wooyoung’s space, his heels clacking against the tile. “Well you better make yourself do that. I don’t know everything that has been going on between you two, but San is min- San is someone I will protect to the end of this earth.”

“I understand that, but I am trying to tell you I am not going to hurt him.” Yeosang seems to be done arguing about it though and just turned on his heel, marching back into the living room. “Come on, it’s time to go.”

Wooyoung was confused at who that was directed to until San pops up from the couch, collecting the coat draping across it. “Wait, your leaving?”

A guilty look flicks across San’s face. “Yes, there is some business that need’s to be taken care of. I will be back this evening though. Keep yourself busy until then. We will talk about everything tonight.” San toke a moment to stare hard into Wooyoung’s eyes, trying to pass the message of, ‘You better not leave or disappear again’. Yeosang’s eyes said the exact opposite. 

Soon the three other men left the room, leaving Wooyoung alone with his thoughts and the memory of a body pressed against him.

The day seemed to drag on. Wooyoung was left alone in a stranger’s house with nothing to do. Every single decoration and object in the house had to have cost more than the culmination of everything Wooyoung has ever bought in his life. He was afraid of laying a finger on something and it shatter beneath his touch. So, he regulated himself to the bedroom at least knowing that space. He ended up reading a whole book from the loft above to pass the time even though he found it to be mostly boring. Some historical romance novel about a king and a queen. By the time, the clock struck 9 pm and he still had heard no word from San, he figured he might as well take a shower. He felt kind of disgusting. 

San’s shower had to be the best thing Wooyoung had ever felt on his body before. He cranked the water temperature to boiling and let himself relax against the spray. It was nice to not be working constantly. Between trying to deal with his dad and the stress of being a surgeon, Wooyoung did not have a lot of time to just be by himself. He took the time washing his body to process everything that has happened in the past half a week. He still could not believe that it really was only like four days since this all began. It felt like a lifetime. Not that it really matters how long it has been since his sense of time has seemed to twist and turn itself from switching between worlds. Wooyoung wondered if he could stay here forever. The more and more time he spent here the more he did not want to return to his world. Ateez had everything he could ever want. A hot billionaire that liked to make out with him in bed (ignoring that he was shot by him), a homophobic free world, and an exciting storyline that was not just day in and day out of no sleeping and working. He would miss Yunho and Seonghwa though. He is sure his friends would understand.

Wooyoung turned off the water, letting the steam in the air caress his body as he toweled off. He really did not want to get back into the overly expensive Versace that he had been wearing for what seemed to be two days now, so he made his way over to the closet. San would not mind him borrowing some clothes, right? He grabs a loose white t-shirt that does not really fit well as it constantly seems to drape off his shoulder and a pair of basketball shorts that rests low on his hips. 

He let out a yawn. Looking at the clock it was already 10 pm. Wow, he had stayed in the shower longer than he thought. San still was not home though. Should he be worried? Did someone try to kill him again? Oh, god he should not have let him go out without him. 

He laid back on the bed, ruffling his hair in stress. It would be just his luck that after all this San would die the moment he was not by his side. ]He was starting to panic as his mind runs wild with endless possibilities when a loud bang echoed through the apartment, startling him. Wooyoung heard stumbling coming towards the room before the door swung open to reveal San, drunk off his ass. He leaned against the doorway for a minute just staring at Wooyoung, his face flushed red from the alcohol.

San’s famous smirk flashed across his face, worrying Wooyoung. “Well if it isn’t my husband. Waiting up for me, how sweet.” San stumbled over to the bed kicking off his shoes and throwing his shirt onto the floor. This man could not keep a shirt on whether he was sober or drunk so it really should not have surprised Wooyoung. He could not think about it for long because San was crawling up his body. 

“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be laying in a man’s bed and looking like that, Wooyoungie?” 

Wooyoung didn’t know when they got close enough for the other to casually just call him ‘Wooyoungie’ but it did things to his heart. He did not have a lot of time to dwell on it since San brings their mouths together for the third time today. San was being as passionate and rough as Wooyoung had been earlier and Wooyoung was absolutely loving it. He did not let it continue for long though, pushing him away. He almost crumbled again when San let out a needy whine. “Nooooo, why?” He starts to kiss up and down the column of Wooyoungs neck and okay, wow, he needed to get out of here now.

“You’re drunk, San. You need some sleep.” Wooyoung pushes the other over onto the bed, even though it was clear that San wanted to pick up where they had left off earlier. “I am going to go sleep on the couch tonight. We will talk in the morning.” San was already starting to fall sleep, the alcohol taking its toll on his body. 

Wooyoung got up, tucking the other under the blanket, turning off the light and leaving the room. He had to catch his breath again. San really had to stop doing this to him. He had no idea how long his heart could handle this. 

He grabbed a blanket from off the side of the couch and laid down, draping it over himself. 

They would sort all of this out in the morning.

San awoke for the second day in a row to the sound of his phone ringing. His head pulses in agony to the rhythm of the song. He really should not have let Yeosang convince him to drink last night after the meetings. He hates hangovers. It takes him a second to be able to open his eyes and locate his phone in the pocket of his jeans. Ew, he slept in his jeans last night. By the time, he answered the phone, Jongho was already screaming into the receiver. “-THEY ARE COMING UP RIGHT NOW.”

“Uhg, Jongho please lower your voice. It is too early for this.”

“San, two detectives are on their way up to the apartment right now. They have a search warrant, someone phoned in that Wooyoung was with you and that there were two gunshots yesterday.”

San’s eyes snapped open and he rushed to put back on his shirt and get out of his room. Shit, he needed to hide Wooyoung fast. Whoever called it in to the police is going to be dead. He bet it was that Versace employee, Saka? Sana?

By the time he got out of the room, Wooyoung was already by the door, obviously still waking up as well and being handcuffed. 

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” San ran over to Wooyoung’s side, looking into his eyes to make sure he was alright. All he saw was fear.

“We heard about a couple gunshots in here yesterday and that Mr. Jung Wooyoung might be involved. Since he is a suspect of an ongoing murder attempt, we need to take him in for questioning.” The police officer talking to him, gave zero fucks about what San wanted. I mean San was the one with the murder attempt against him, shouldn’t he have a say whether the person they arrested did it?

Apparently not as one of them pull Wooyoung out of the apartment and the other tries to block San from following but San yells out after the other. “It’s okay Wooyoung, don’t panic. I will get this all fixed!” 

“Sir, we would appreciate it if you also came into the station today for questioning. Is that alright with you?” San nods, following the officer out of his apartment, only stopping a second to put on shoes. He grabs a second pair when he realizes that asshole officer didn’t let Wooyoung leave with some on.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Wooyoung sat in the cold crowded cell. The other men that sat beside him either ignored him or continued to leer at him. Wooyoung wonders if he will even make it past the first night in jail.

Once they got him to the police center, they were quick to find no registered citizen named Jung Wooyoung with his blood sample. So, not only is he convicted for attempted murder but also as an illegal alien in his own country. Well, he guesses this is not really his country. San had said he would get him out of this. He would, right? Wooyoung could not survive in jail. He is too small and pretty. They would eat him up alive. In fact, they might just do that now.

While he was lost in his thoughts, Wooyoung had not noticed that one of the guys who had set up his sleeping mat close to him was ever so slowly scooting towards his. It was not until a hand touches his ass roughly over his uncomfortable prison jumper that he notices the 50-year-old man behind him. He yelps slamming his foot back into the man’s crotch and crawls into the corner. Said man, lets out a screech and wakes up the other guys in the cell with them. 

“Shut the fuck up, old man. Or I will beat the shit out of you.” The old man just crawls off in pain. To scared that the other cellmates would beat him to death if he tries anything else.

Wooyoung is not going to survive and he will not sleep. He cries in the corner for the rest of the night.

The next morning, he got a visitor in the name of Choi San. He could not even describe the feeling of relief that floods his body when he enters the small room. A piece of glass separates the two rooms and two people; the only way to communicate through the phone on the wall. Wooyoung brought the cold metallic phone to his ear. “Hey, San.”

“Hey, how are you holding up?”

“Horribly. This place sucks.”

“Yeah I know all to well how much prison sucks… I need you to stick in there for just a little bit more though, okay? I have a plan.” His voice was a great comfort to Wooyoung. It filled him with hope.

“How much longer? I do not know how much longer I can survive. I can’t sleep without the fear of that man touching me.”

Anger clouds Sans face. “What man? Did someone touch you? Tell me who it is, and I will make sure he get’s switched out of your room.”

“I don’t know his name. He is the oldest one in there though. Please, get him out of there. I don’t know how long I’m safe…” Wooyoung hates how pathetic he sounds. Usually he would be up front and aggressive with protecting himself. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty, but his will on life was quick to crumble in that cell. He was afraid. “What’s your plan?”

“We are going to get married.” There was a pause in the conversation.

Wooyoung then proceeds to choke on air. “What?!?”

“It’s the easiest way to clear your name. It would clear you of suspicion on the murder charge and would allow you to get a visa into this country.”

“I can’t just marry you! We just met. And we’re both guys, gay marriage isn’t even legal in Korea.”

“There you are again with the whole male thing and who says gay marriage isn’t legal? Where did you hear that from?”

Oh, yeah. Wooyoung had forgot.

“Never mind that. I can’t just get married.”

“Do you want to stay in jail then?” 

Wooyoung deflates at that. “No… Can I at least think about it?”

“Of course, Wooyoung. I must get everything set up anyways. I will be back in a couple days for your decision, okay?” San did stay long after that. Eager to get started on his plan. Wooyoung could not believe he suggested they get married. Like married, married. This is crazy.

However, the longer and longer he stayed inside his jail room, the less crazy it sounded. True to his word, San convinced the guards, probably through money, to change the creepy dude out of the room. That did not mean he slept peacefully though. He could not sleep for more than an hour without getting woken up to weird noises or moving bodies. He did not want to know how many times he heard a man jack off in the same room as him in the following few days. Wooyoung was getting anxious.

When the guard announced that Wooyoung had a visitor, his heart sailed through the roof, breaking out of prison all by itself. However, when he entered the visiting room he was not met with San. Instead in front of him was a slightly older man. He was just shorter than Wooyoung and stood with a kind smile on his face. It was Kim Hongjoong. 

From what Wooyoung remembers, Hongjoong was the captain of San’s volleyball team for the Olympics and when everything went south for San following his family’s death, he was the first to step by his side. He helped clear San’s name and soon became the COO of Ateez itself. Where San was, Hongjoong was close by.

“Hello, my name is Kim Hongjoong. I work for Choi San as you probably know. I am here to discuss the arrangement San had talked about last time.” Before Hongjoong came here, he was hesitant to trust this Wooyoung that was suddenly tying down his dearest brother. Now, looking at the frail kid in front of him, all he could feel is pity. “I’m sorry it took us so long. There are a lot of holes to jump through as you might expect, but San is ready for your answer now.”

Wooyoung broke quick. “Yes, please, just…get me out of here.”

Hongjoong felt the sudden urge to protect this kid. He reminds him too much of San. “Of course, Wooyoung. We will do that for you. Do you think you can last one more day?”

Wooyoung was hesitant. He knew he could, but he really did not want to stay one more second in here. 

Hongjoong’s voice softened as if he was talking down a person from jumping off a roof. “Look, I know this is all tough on you. I have been through this before with San. I know you can do it. If you need anything, and I mean anything Wooyoung, call for me. You are family now if you marry San.” Wooyoung has never felt as much comfort as he did in that moment. Not even his own parent’s words make him feel this way. He just nodded at the other. “Good. Now, I need to go and finalize things. I will see you later okay?”

And just like that, he was alone in the cell again.

The next day he was informed of another visitor. Expecting Hongjoong again, he was shocked when he opened the door to see San. San just gave him the brightest smile that promptly fills his stomach with glee and almost made the bright purple bags under his eyes lighten. He sat down eager to pick up the phone. 

San’s face softened the minute he set his gaze upon the other. “How are you doing?” 

Wooyoung’s eye immediately filled with tears threatening to fall without any warning. He was not doing good. “Not good.”

“I know. It’s time to get you out now.”

“Please, San.” His voice was cracking but he would not let the tears fall. He has been too weak in front of the other already.

“It’s my job. I created a whole company for this purpose. To stop injustice in the policing system. Don’t worry.”

Wooyoung’s heart felt lighter.

“I just need one more thing from you before I sign off on everything. 

His heart sank again. “What?”

San paused, searching Wooyoung’s face for something the other had no idea of. “Explain what’s happening. Who you are and how are you able to disappear. Who the man with no face is. I need answers.”

Wooyoung felt like he should fight against this. He did not want to hurt the other. He under no circumstances should tell San, but his will was breaking. A week in prison can do that to a person

“You don’t want to know…”

“I really do.” He was persistent, his gaze not leaving Wooyoung’s. 

“You’re going to regret it.”

“No, I won’t.”

Wooyoung just sighed. If this was the only way out so be it. San would have to deal with the consequences. 

“San, I am not the one who’s not real, you are. You are a manhwa character. This world you live in is just a comic.” It came out sounding less climatic than it sounded in his head.

In the next second Wooyoung was gone, disappearing right in front of him.


	7. Episode 7: When life gives you lemons, make a bloody mary.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> San was fake? That couldn't be real. Wooyoung had to be lying to him. So, why did it hurt so bad?
> 
> For the first time, it was San that was left with all the questions and not a single answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am gonna straight up say I hate this chapter. I wanted it to be more dramatic and stuff but no matter how hard I tried it just didn't feel right and it just all seems so rushed. So sorry about that. Please leave feedback if you have any and thanks for being so patient. All the comments have been motivating me to write even though I hate how it comes out. You are all so sweet. Have a good night and I will try to be back soon.

San was frozen as the alarm rang above. Men in uniforms scrambling around his frozen form searching for the missing boy that just disappeared right in front of everyone’s eyes. It was chaos and inside that chaos sat one man, contemplating his whole life.

A manhwa character? That must be one of the craziest ideas to ever come to mind. San was not sure what Wooyoung was getting at here. There is no way San is just a character in a story, that is not even possible right? The more he thought about it though, why couldn’t it be possible? He has people disappearing in front of his eyes constantly and time always seemed to flow weird to him. Some moments seemed to last years while months would flash before his eyes. Heck, he thought Wooyoung was not real just two seconds ago. So, why could he not accept it for himself? Maybe it was the implications that came along with it. Maybe, he is not real. Maybe, just maybe, his whole life up till this point has just been a story for people to laugh and gawk at. His dead parent’s flash behind his eyes. If this was just a story, it was a sick game to play on someone.

San was too caught up in his mind to notice that the area around him became silent. He lifted his head and he could no longer deny Wooyoung’s words to be totally false. A man in uniform was frozen in a statuesque form, completely suspended in the air. San slowly rises from the incredibly uncomfortable prison chair they had provided for the visiting room. The prison guard was reaching out to him, hand spread in a way that insinuated he was going to apprehend San for being an accomplice in the escape of a prisoner. San examined the frozen angry face that stood before him, similar to the angry faces from the public he associated with the death of his parents. Was the world really frozen?

He stepped out of the small room and into the hallways. No matter which way San looked, he was forced to confront the reality that faced him. A little girl holding her mothers hand sat frozen in front of him. Two more security guards were suspended in the air in what seemed to be a sprint towards his visiting cell. No matter which way he turned he was confronted with the fact the world had stopped. He could not even feel the wind on his skin as he turned his head from left to right. 

San had no idea what to do now. How does he cope with the knowledge something completely out of his control was currently affecting his world? Before he could make it all the way down the hall, something started to appear right in front of him. Almost like it was seemingly being drawn into the world, a large screen started to materialize. It looked familiar. Where had he seen this before? It took San a second, but he finally recognized the white space. The same white screen had appeared to him those months ago as he sat bleeding to death on the top of his friend’s hotel. He had reached in then. Did he not? San could not quite remember since he had lost to much blood at that point. He had passed out before he could bring his hand back. But he remembers…grabbing onto someone. Yeah, he definitely remembers the warmth of someone as he passed out on the ground. 

San lifted his hand, slowly inching it towards the screen in front of him. His fingers passed through the white and disappearing from his sight. He could feel the wind again. He inched the rest of his arm in and then the rest of his body slowly through the portal until the world disappeared around him, turning black. He steps out onto the streets of Seoul. 

The alleyway he found himself in seemed like the streets he usually walked every day. Honestly, this could be his world. Wooyoung could have lied to him. This did not prove anything. He approached the crosswalk connected to the alley, watching as people flew past him not even recognizing his existence.

San was about to get ready to laugh off all what Wooyoung had said. A comic? That was a genius way to fool him to be honest. If he wanted to escape all he had to do was ask San and he would help. There is no reason to lie to his face about it and just get his head all messed up. However, as he was looking out to the world before him, his eyes landed on the bookstore that lay across the intersection. There on the window, displayed a sign. A sign that had a character that looked all too familiar with a single word that made his stomach drop to the ground, ‘Ateez’. Without even thinking fully San stepped into the road, a car slamming onto their breaks as to not hit him. San did not even look over to the car though, eyes solely focused on the poster that stood ahead of him. He ran across the street not looking as cars honked and yelled out the windows towards him. 

He had to be standing there for more than 10 minutes just staring at an exact replica of his face sketched out. San’s body moved on its own accord, bringing him into the store and over to the stand that displayed the novels. It was decorated in a way that only insanely popular books get in stores like these. A banner with the title and a pop up stands of all his friends lay around it. Yeosang, Jongho, Hongjoong…What would this mean for them? 

Edition after edition laid on the table before him. There looked to be around 34 in total. 34 books to sum up his life so far. Oddly, that did not seem like enough. 

San picked up a copy of the 1st edition novel, flipping to a random page and oh god, he wishes he didn’t. On the page sat the lifeless form of his father, eyes bulging out of his head in an almost comedic fashion and a bullet hole right in the middle of his forehead. The exact last image he had seem of his dad. The book fell out of his hands and his eyes start to water before he could even comprehend what he had just seem. 

A woman who was wearing an apron that was embroidered with the bookstores logo on the top corner starts to approach him. Her worried face, bringing Sans confused gaze over to her. “Hello, sir. Do you need help with anything?”

San shakes his head no, not speaking a word. His eyes still wide in confusion.

“Well, if you need any help. My name is Hyun-hee. I remember my first time reading Ateez as well. It can be a little overwhelming so don’t feel bad for crying.” She hid her giggle behind one soft hand. “Actually, you kind of look like San a bit. You are so lucky. He is so handsome.” The girl giggles again, twirling her hair around her finger as San tries to school his face into a somewhat decent expression for public. Silence reigns between them as San tries to think of what he is going to do next. What is the point of his life now? Was everything just fake? Was he just fake?

The girl’s face morphs into one of apprehension. He might have good looks, but this man was sure acting like an alien. She turns to leave the strange man and go back to her spot to work, declaring she would never try and help a pretty man ever again, but a hand grabs her and turns her back around. “I want to buy every copy you have.” San is glad he always carries cash.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

San left the store with a bag that weighed as much as the Eiffel Tower. Where was he to go now? He needed to find a place where he could sit and read them. Maybe they had clues on what the hell was going on. He did not want to do it in public though. He was afraid he would start to cry again like he did in the bookstore. That was just embarrassing. This was Wooyoung’s world, right? Then he would beg to assume that Wooyoung would be here right now. He needs to find him. He was still the key to his existence. That was the only thought that crowed San’s mind as he hails down a taxi.

The driver turns to him. “Where are you going young man?”

“Myungse Hospital.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wooyoung walks out of the ER room after another successful surgery. The past week he had been throwing himself into work, just waiting till the next time he would be transported back into Ateez. It had already been a week and Wooyoung has been a complete mess of a person. His anxiety almost made Seonghwa snap at him yesterday when he was not paying attention to the meeting for the surgery doctors. Wooyoung was worried. It had been a week without any news of San. Was he okay? The story had not updated since the last one when he left. So he had no idea what was happening in comic. He had no idea what San was feeling right now. His phone start to ring in his pocket and he is quick to answer, hoping it is Mingi with any updates on the story. 

“Hello?”

Yunho walked out of the surgery room, pulling off the plastic gloves for the job and smiling at his friend. 

“Hello, Mr. Jung. This is the front desk at Myungse. Your husband is here.”

“My husband?” Wooyoung was not married. Well, I mean I guess he technically was but not to anyone here in this world. Only to… No way. ”Oh, my husband. Yes.” 

His feet were already carrying him as he snaps his phone shut. He heard a soft, “husband?” behind him but he was already focused on getting to the reception as fast as he could. The sprint to the front desk of hospital seeming like the longest marathon of his life. He ducks and weaves his way through the many doctors and nurses that surround the inside of the ER sector to the chagrin of everyone else. As he finally breaks through the doors of the hall into the main lobby of the hospital. His lungs were heaving as they were almost at full capacity. He had to rest his hands on his knees to catch his breath. After a few second of calming down he flicks his head over to the front desk, searching for a face he was all to familiar with. His eyes landed on the one person he thought he would never see at his work. 

Wooyoung jogs over to the black-clad man, their eyes making contact and not breaking for even a second as s per usual with their encounters. “Wha-what’s happening? How are you here?”

San just gives him a small smile, not saying anything. He was searching for something in Wooyoung’s eyes. Something that Wooyoung did not know if he had the answer for. 

San grabs Wooyoung’s wrist and starts pulling him to the exit. “Wait! Where are you taking me?” Even without knowing what was going on or where they were going Wooyoung obediently trails behind the other. “How did you even get here? Why aren’t you in Ateez?” San trips up a little at the mention of the comic and Woo decides to stay silent on the fumble. He could only imagine what is going through the other’s mind. 

They stop right outside of the garden situated right next to the front entrance for the patients. Wooyoung huffs at the other, starting to get annoyed by the silence. “Are you going to say anything?”

San stays silent again, still looking for something in Wooyoung’s eyes. After a minute of silence and an intense stare down, a raindrop lands just under Wooyoung’s eye causing him to look up towards the sky. Within seconds the ground surrounding them becomes wet, both stuck in the downpour. Woo brings his gaze back down to San, who seems to still be lost in the other. Slowly, as the rain starts seeping into Wooyoung’s jacket, a hand lifts between them and settles on the back of his neck, tugging him closer to San’s body. Two soaked chests collide. Why was San acting like this? It seemed every time things started to get frustrating between them, they ended up in this situation, with both of their face’s inches from each other. Even though Wooyoung knew San was doing this to cover up and cope with both the fear and pain in his eyes, he let him bring his head closer and press their mouths together.

The same buzzing pleasure that Wooyoung has come to associate with San courses through his body once again. He brings up his hand not pressed to San’s chest and slides it into his hair, pulling on the roots to tilt his head to the side and deepen the soul-wrenching contact between them. This went on like this for a while, the push and pull of two bodies pressed together from head to toe. Wooyoung became like putty in the other’s hands. San finally pulls away right before Woo’s knees could straight up buckle underneath him. San held onto his waist, using one arm to hold the other up which only furthered the fire that had settles into Wooyoung’s bones.

Both were panting and once again staring into each other. Wooyoung was so caught up in the moment he barely registered the feeling of something sliding onto his finger. He looks down and sees a silver band with four diamonds diagonally cut across sitting on his hand. 

San ran a thumb across the ring, chuckling under his breath. “Was supposed to give this to you before you left.” 

Wooyoung let out an incredulous laugh. “You actually bought a ring?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I buy my husband a ring?”

Wooyoung just shook his head. “I really don’t understand you.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Seonghwa only had to take one look at his employee soaked to the bone and clinging to other man for him to shoo him away. “Go home before you catch a cold.”

So, that is how he ended up with San, his favorite web comic character, wrapped up in his clothes and blanket sprawled out on his bed. Wooyoung had to pry his eyes away from the strip of skin showing itself before he died as a tomato. He could not calm down for a moment, his feet taking him from room to room to clean up the mess that has been his apartment for the past year. “Sorry I am not usually this messy. Being a doctor doesn’t give you a lot of time to clean or be at home really.”

San did not really seem to mind, to lost in his thoughts to really pay attention to the words coming out of the others mouth. Just humming whenever Wooyoung said anything to him. It got to a point where Wooyoung was becoming extremely worried. What was he thinking about? Obviously, what he had said last time they had parted was weighing heavily on San’s mind. Woo did not say it to make the boy become like this. The other really kind of forced it out of him. So why did Wooyoung feel at fault? Both had fallen into an awkward silence. 

One-minute San was on the bed and the next he had Wooyoung pressed against the door of his bedroom with their lips pressed together. San wasted no time immediately biting onto Wooyoung’s bottom lip and slipping his hands underneath his shirt. Wooyoung could not catch up with the other as he plowed forward not really taking in Wooyoung’s feelings at all. When Wooyoung felt a hand on the button to his pants, he shoved the other off of him. “Stop!”

San just stood there. His head facing the ground and hair abstracting the view of his face. 

“What’s wrong with you? Why do you always do this when you feel like shit?” 

The anger in Wooyoung’s voice must have triggered it but in the next second the only sounds heard throughout the room were sobs. 

San fell to the ground with a thick stream of tears steadily flowing down his face. He collapsed into a huddle on the ground, his knees tucked up under his chest and the top of his head resting against the carpet. 

Wooyoung started to freak out. What should he do? He had never had a crying boy in his room before, fuck. He ran over and laid a hand on his back and rubbed circles into the cotton, trying to give some sort of comfort. “Hey, San it’s okay. I am not mad. Calm down. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Between the sobs, he heard a soft, “I’m an asshole…”

“I mean it was not a nice thing to do but it’s okay. I forgive you, please stop crying.” San did not stop crying. “What do you want me to do San? Please...”

San finally lifted his body out of the ball he formed, his face bright red from the tears that stain his face. “I’m an asshole and I’m not even real. My existence and personality is all made up.”

Wooyoung finally understood. “You are real San. Don’t say that.”

“My world is fake. My parents were fake. Yeosang and Jongho are fake. Nothing is real. Everything was just some sick story some asshole made up to torture me.”

Wooyoung really hated his dad. Why did he have to make San’s life so unhappy? Why did he have to constantly try and kill him?

Wooyoung grabbed San’s hand and held it up to his chest. “Do you feel that?” San nodded. “Well you wouldn’t be able to feel that if you weren’t real. You wouldn’t be able to cry. You wouldn’t be able to breath. You are real to me.” 

San’s face scrunched up in what looked like pain. “Fuck, you’re perfect.” He pulled Wooyoung to him, hiding his face into the others neck. 

Minutes ticked by as they sat on the floor of Wooyoung’s room, huddled together. San was the first to break the silence. “I’m sorry I did that to you.”

Wooyoung let out a breath of a laugh. “It is okay. I forgive you. Let’s just take things slow, okay? I know it kind of feels like we know each other but we only met not long ago.”

San pulled away and smiled, making Wooyoung’s heart skip a beat. “Sure thing, husband~.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keeping their hands to each other was harder than Wooyoung had originally thought.

The rest of the week followed in a similar manner. Wooyoung had work but he had been asking for more time off. Which Seonghwa and Yunho were both ecstatic about since their friend never seemed to take a break. When Wooyoung got back from work San would pull into the bed, kissing him until they both got too hot and had to pull apart. It was driving Wooyoung crazy. Never had he restrained himself to this point. 

He had only had any sexual experience with a boy once in high school. He had been crushing on this boy, Kim Hyunbin, for over a year before anything happened. Wooyoung kept to himself for the most part in high school only really having a few friends that he hung out with. Most thought of him to be very outgoing since when he was around others he would always be laughing or smiling. He was incredibly shy though. Hyunbin was the class president and most people in the class looked up to him. Especially, Wooyoung. Woo was always focused on school. At the time not knowing what he wanted to do with his life, just knowing he wanted to make a difference and be someone important to others. Hyunbin was first in grades in the class. He was the most handsome boy in the school. Wooyoung was utterly infatuated.

And as time went on it seemed the other boy took notice to Woo’s longing stares. One Friday after the bell rang signaling the end of school, both Hyunbin and him were assigned clean up duty. Wooyoung with a broom in one hand, got pushed up onto a wall as the boy crushed their mouths together. It escalated quickly as most things do when it comes to teenage boys and not but five minutes later a hand was in his school slacks fumbling around. Wooyoung had to break away to catch his breathe as the other dived for his neck. It was then that he noticed the other presence in the room. Lee Minhee, the vice class president stood there, with tears clouding her eyes. Hyunbin, noticing how stiff Wooyoungs body had become underneath his looked back to see the girl. He immediately pushed away from him, cursing loudly. “What the fuck? Why were you touching me like that? You’re absolutely disgusting!” It was not long till he was alone in the classroom, with his pants still unbuttoned and his chest heaving as Hyunbin grabbed Minhee’s hand and dragged her out of the room.

It did not matter to others that he did not start it or that he was the one that got attacked without consent. The rumor that Wooyoung had molested their class president was quick to spread through the school. Then started the bullying and the fighting that led to him to the principal’s office getting outed to his dad. 

Maybe that is why every time San even seemed to get close to getting heavy with him, his heart would jump up to his throat till he separated himself from the situation. It is not like he is not insanely attracted to San. He just does not trust him enough yet. Even though it had technically been months since they met, they were still practically strangers to each other. Though, they were getting closer as the week progressed. Wooyoung had found out San likes taking showers before bed and he had a hidden pleasure of watching old historical dramas. San had found out that Wooyoung hates leaving the bed in the morning and prefers to watch medical dramas despite his profession. Every day they would learn something new that made the infatuation run deeper then the skin, slowly filling the heart.

They did not know when or if San could get back to the comic world. It is not something they really talked about either. Every time San was reminded about the predicament they were in, he could not talk for hours. So, they both ignored the elephant in the room. San instead took it upon himself to be the best husband he could be.

Wooyoung was resting on the couch, an episode of the Masked Singer playing in the background while San was sprawled out on the ground in front of the TV.

San was ignoring the TV. Instead trying to make conversation despite Wooyoung hushing him so that he could watch. “So, I know we got married super-fast so that you can be free from prison and all. But what is your ideal relationship.”

Wooyoung looked down at the boy confused. “What do you mean ideal relationship?”

“Like what is your ideal boyfriend?”

Wooyoung giggles at the question, finding it weird he is curious considering how they are now. “Are you asking me out?”

San just rolls his eyes. “You’re talking as if we aren’t already married and haven’t made out on every piece of furniture in this house.” San smirked as a wave of blood rushed to Wooyoung’s face. 

“Well, I dunno. The person just being themselves is all I could really ask for.”

San rolls on his stomach and sighs at the obvious answer. “Booooorrrring. I mean like what type of affection do you like? Do you like back hugs? What’s your ideal date?”

“I don’t know… I haven’t been on date.” 

San did a double take. “Wait, what? You haven’t been on a date? With your looks?” 

Wooyoung’s scoffs at the absurdity of the comment. “I mean, yeah. It’s not like I am anything special.”

He could not believe what he was hearing. San’s eyebrow raises into his hair. “Well that is just false.”

Wooyoung sighs and tries to change the subject. “I guess I would like back hugs. I like most physical affection. I really like hugs in general. I like the simple things. Making food for the other, showing up to work with flowers in hand, simple things like that.”

San nods and contemplates for a bit. “When you get back to work, I will have to get you flowers. I am almost running out of cash. I spent it all on….” Well there goes the mood. The tall stack of comics sat in the corner glared at the couple with their ever-looming presence. “Well anyways. I want to be the best husband you could ever have. Least I can do after making you marry me.”

“More like I made you marry me…”

“Let’s just say we are both equally in fault for this marriage.” 

Wooyoung laughs. “You make it sound like this marriage is the worst.”

“Well, I am trying to avoid that. So, let me do stuff for you. We should go on a date.”

Wooyoung shrugs. It is kind of late for that. “Sure, but I have work.”

“We can do it on the next day your off.”

A fond smile falls over Wooyoung’s features. “That sounds nice San.”

Their moment of happiness is broken with the trill of a ringtone. It was Wooyoung’s obviously since San’s did not technically work in this world. 

“Hello?”

San could hear a voice screaming through the phone from across the room. 

“Wooyoung! Where are you?”

“Mingi? What’s wrong?”

“The comic just updated!” An air of silence passes through the room.

“What do you mean the comic just updated? San is not ther-“ Wooyoungs eyes flick over to the body on the floor.

“I don’t know! None of us have been drawing the last few weeks. It makes no sense. And the chapter that was posted was completely crazy. San coming into the real world and the comic being fake. Like completely 4th wall breaking. Your dad went crazy! Saying he had to find San and he had a gun! I didn’t even know teacher even had a gun! That is illegal! Wooyoung I have no idea what is happening, but I am freaking out!” Mingi was almost hyperventilating at the end of his rant. Wooyoung was trying to calm down his worried friend over the line when a banging came from his entryway door. He made eye contact with San who had during all the commotion gotten up from the floor.

“Mingi, I will call you back. Hold on.” He hung up and slowly made his way over to the door, another loud bang resounding through his apartment. “Dad?”

“Wooyoung, open up. I know he’s in there.” Wooyoung had never heard his dad both so mad and frantic before. It was scaring him. What had Mingi said?

He went over and rested his hand over the doorknob prepared to open it for his dad on the other side. “What are you doing? Who are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, boy.” Wooyoung was starting to get scared of his father. The same fear he felt when he argued with him last time about killing San. “San. I know he’s here. Just open the door so we can talk.”

Maybe Wooyoung should not have been so trusting in his dad. Maybe he should have taken Mingi’s words to heart. He opened the door.

His dad knocked him aside, bursting through the door and checking every crevice of the house until his eyes met that of San. He lifted a revolver and pointed it at his head without even acknowledging his son. 

San’s hands rose in a pose of surrender. “Hello sir. I don’t know what is going on, but maybe we could talk about this before we go shooting people?” San was not truly afraid. He had several guns pointed at him in his life so far. 

“There will be no talking. I brought you into this world and I am going to take you out of it. You won’t be able to kill me first.”

“What? What do you mean?” San’s eyes flicked over to Wooyoung. 

“I’m the one who makes Ateez. I am the one who made you.”

“Wha-? Wooyoung? Your dad…”

Shit. He had never told San, had he. That his dad was the cause of all of this. “Dad put your gun down. We can talk about this.”

“No Wooyoung. He is dangerous. He is a sentient fucking comic character. You have no idea what he could do.” Wooyoung had never seen such a crazed look in his dad’s eyes. Not when he got divorced from his mother and not even when he found out his only son was gay. If he was not scared before, which he totally was, he sure was now.

San was frozen. Wooyoung had never said anything. They had been together for a week now and he never mentioned that his dad was his creator. Why? That is an important piece of information to just leave out of the conversation. The topic had come up enough at this point, even if they were awkwardly trying to ignore it, for Wooyoung to have had the chance to say something. He looks over at Wooyoung and could hardly face mask the disappointment and horror that fell over his face. 

San took a step towards his husband but was stopped by the other figure in the room screaming. “Don’t fucking move!” San was not listening though. Blood was rushing through his ears causing all noise to fade from around him. Why would Wooyoung…? Why did it hurt so bad? Why did his father want to kill him? What had he even done to the man? He was insane. San was just trying his best to live. Was that to much to ask for? 

A shot rang out in the room. A small line of steam rising from the barrel of the gun clutched in Wooyoung’s father’s hand. 

Wooyoung fell to the floor. Without even realizing it, Wooyoung had jumped in between his father and San just as the bullet flew out of the gun. The world was clouded in pain as his vision was tinted red. 

The world was silent for a second as no one truly understood the situation that lay in front of them. 

“Wooyoung!” San was the first to finally snapped out of it and ran over to the pile of blood and human lying on the wooden floor. Wooyoung’s father was frozen in place looking down at his son in horror.

“Hey, hey Woo I need you to keep your eyes open. Baby, I need you to stay awake for me okay?” San’s hand pressed into the wound on his stomach, blood slowly seeping through his fingers. Wooyoung opened his mouth, trying to speak but ended up coughing blood back onto his face.

“Hey, shhh, shhh. Don’t speak, just stay awake okay?” San had not been this frantic since the day his family had died. The feel of blood under his hand triggering every unpleseant memory he had. What could he do? What can he do? Wooyoung was bleeding to much. He was losing blood so fast. It had only been a minute since the bullet entered his abdomen, but the blood was flowing around them. Wooyoung had saved San on the brink of death so why couldn’t San save him back? 

The world was starting to darken around Wooyoung. He could not keep his eyes open much longer much to the horror of everyone else in the room. Through the coughing of blood Wooyoung spoke a soft, “sorry,” before the world went completely black to the sound of sobbing.

The pain had finally stopped.


	8. Episode 8: Grief is a sickening thing.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooyoung was gone and at this point the questions may never be answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, sorry I have been gone for so long but I am back! Sorry for the short chapter but it will probably be more of a regular thing. That also means there will probably be more than 10 chapters. I am super busy at work (working about 50 hours a week) and I have only been able to write in my free time. So I hope you can forgive me for being super slow. 
> 
> I have changed up the plot I was going to write to include more pain cause why not so have fun.
> 
> Also, who's excited for the comeback? I am. I am also here to spread the word of seventeen world domination. If you haven't checked out Left and Right by Seventeen do yourself a favor and watch it.

What would you do if you had accidentally shot your child? What would that kind of pain feel like? What if that led to their death? Would you be able to live with yourself? Would you ever be able to look in the mirror again without throwing up? The pain of losing a child is one that a lot of people do not know of. It is a pain that can not be erased from a person. It is something you take to your grave.

San looked upon Wooyoung’s father in pity. How could be angry when he knew that feeling? He had never killed anyone, nor did he have a child that he lost, but he understood. He knew feeling of losing some one due to your own actions. That did not stop the pain of seeing someone else he cared about losing the life from their eyes right in front of him yet again. This man who had helped carry his agony, who helped healed his wounds and give him a reason to keep going despite the reality he had faced, died in his arms that night. 

San’s view blurred around him. He did not even know where Wooyoung’s father was at the moment. The world came to a stop. Wooyoung could not die, right? He had just made his way into San’s life, there was no way he could just exit that easily, right? Reality only spoke the truth. Wooyoung’s pale face lay on the hospital bed. When they first got to the hospital, they had immediately brought him into surgery, but it was already to late. He had lost to much blood. The hallways were silent, only the soft crying of the staff at the loss of one of their own. 

Two doctors in particular had not left his side since he came in. Yunho had not stopped crying. His best friend was gone. The person he loved most in the world was gone. It did not make sense to him. Wooyoung loved his father more than anything in the world. Wooyoung always told him everything. So, who was this new man, claiming to be his husband? Yunho did not understand what was going on all he knew was that the man he loved had just died. Seonghwa had been silent. Just staring down at his employee. If there was a tear that had fallen down his face, no one acknowledged it. 

Both ignored the new face that had not let go of the limp hand of their friend. Neither of them noticed as San’s image began to flicker in and out of existence. Neither noticed when Wooyoung’s hand had dropped to the table as the other body in the room completely blinked out of existence. They did however realize as the body of their friend did the same. 

\-------------------------------------------

San’s world was back to the way it was before meeting Wooyoung. In fact, no matter who he asked, they all said the same thing. They had never heard of or talked to a Jung Wooyoung. Even Jongho and Yeosang who San knew for a fact had met him, said they never heard of a boy like that. It was like his world was rewound to before meeting the other. The only thing that remained of Wooyoung in the Ateez world was San’s memories. 

San did not know what to do with himself. Not only was he stuck with the memories of Wooyoung’s death, he was also stuck with the knowledge that the world he was currently in was fake. Or at least that is what he remembers being told. He was not sure of much lately. Time seemed to stop around him. Yeosang and Jongho had been trying to get San to leave his apartment for weeks now. For San it had felt like minutes and years at the same time. 

Last time San had to deal with the grief of losing someone he had deeply cared about he had Hongjoong by his side. His mentor had brought him out of the darkness that had surrounded him and had given him a reason to thrive. He had helped San rebuild his life with Ateez by his side. Hongjoong never showed up though. Jongho had been on a mission since his best friend had locked himself away to find the man, but no one had seen him since San had gotten like this. He had disappeared from the world the moment he had needed him. 

It is not like San is not taking care of himself though. He continues life like he had done so far. He had learned that from losing his parents. You just have to keep living even when you don’t want to. He tried dying before. It was not something he likes to think about on a good day, let alone with the darkness that had swallowed him. 

He continued working and continued eating, but that did not mean he continued living. How could Yeosang even call what San was doing living? His friend was running himself into the ground without thought. Yeosang had not seen a single emotion other than indifference since the day he had gotten back. He had tried to pry the answer of why he had suddenly gone comatose out of the man, but it seemed his lips were sealed shut. The only thing Yeosang knew was that one day, San had appeared at the office, scrambling around asking about some man called Jung Wooyoung, and when told no one knew who he was, turned into this. It hurt Yeosang. He had loved this man since he first laid eyes on him back in high school. San was so confident back then. He was always smiling, always carrying around that volleyball, and always giving comfort to Yeosang. How could he have not fallen for the man? He represented everything good to Yeosang. All the righteousness and strength in world wrapped in a beautiful face with a heart-melting laugh. God, Yeosang missed his laugh. Yeosang missed his San. 

Yeosang had noticed it before San had gotten like this. Had noticed that he did not mean as much to San as the man did to him. To San, Yeosang was his just old friend from high school that helped him at the office. Yeosang had known this but it did not make it hurt any less when San ignores his presence at work. It did not hurt any less when San would not even look at his face when he visits his apartment. It did not hurt any less knowing the fact that the man he loved did not love him back. 

How could it not hurt when he noticed the wedding ring on San’s finger? His heart ached as the glass of wine he had been drinking spills across the dining table they were currently eating at. San could only sigh and get up to grab a towel and clean the mess the currently frozen boy had made. “What’s wrong?” San’s tone was emotionless. To Yeosang it made it clear that San did not care.

“Is that a wedding ring?” San startles by the question. It was the first glimpse of emotion he had seen on his friends face for weeks. That told everything Yeosang had needed to know. The sadness, the frantic questioning for a ‘Wooyoung’, the fact he had felt like he had no idea who his friend was for the first time in his life, it all suddenly became apparent. Yeosang had to reel in his tears. He did not want San to see him like this. He did not want to see San at all right now. He got up from the table leaving behind the spilt wine, his first love, and his heart.

\-------------------------------------------

San was woken up in the middle of the night. Well, he would have been if he had been asleep, but sleep was eluding him nowadays. His phone screen read Yeosang. The boy had previously been in his apartment for dinner and left in such a hurry that San had barely had time to think. He knew he should not have let Yeosang think he had really gotten married. It was shitty of him. He knew that Yeosang has had a crush on him for as long as he had known his friend. But San was selfish. He did not want to lose one of the most important friendships in his life, so he chose to ignore it. If San had been in a better headspace, he would have never let it slip that he had been married. Especially now with Wooyoung gone. There was no need to break Yeosang’s heart like that. San’s surprised he is even calling him after everything. He hesitates before pressing the answer button. 

“Yeosangie?” All he could hear were sobs and frantic breathing from the other side of the line. “Yeosang, please calm down. It will be alright.”

“No San,” He had to pause to suck in a breath as his chest heaved. “It’s not!”

San could tell the other had been drinking. Yeosang would never have called like this if he were not. “Everything will be okay. You just need to breathe.”

“No, it’s not! It’s never going to be okay again.” His breathing was only getting worse. “You don’t love me and now I’m disappearing!” He was almost yelling into the receiver, so it took San a couple seconds to process what had just been said to him.

“What do you mean you are disappearing?” He must have misheard. 

“As in, part of my arm is gone and its slowly melting away. Is it because you do not love me San? Am I that unimportant that even the world want’s me to be gone now?” San did not waste any time jumping from his comforter. It did not even register to him that Yeosang might be seeing things wrong or lying. He would never do that.

“No, Yeosangie. I love you so much and you are so important to me and to the world. I am on my way to your place right now. Do you think you can stay on the phone with me until I get there?” San had not shown this much emotion in weeks. 

Yeosang seemed to be calmed down by those word and tone of the others voice, his sobbing subsiding on the other side of the phone. “Yeah… I can.” 

San made his way as fast as he could to his friend’s apartment. He probably broke 15 different traffic laws upon the way, but he did not care. His friend needed his help and this time he would not let them down. 

He could not explain what he was greeted with when he opened the door. The living room was a disaster. Wine bottles, pillows, and paper were strewn around in chaos. In the middle of it lay the blonde head of his friend, still sobbing into his knees. As San got closer, what Yeosang said over the phone appeared to be true and not just the drunken rambling of a heart broken man. With Yeosang’s head shoved into his knees it was a little difficult to see his arm but once his head lifted the true horror struck into San’s heart. His friends red splotched face looked upon San as he took in the nonexistent arm he was expecting to see. He scrambled over to Yeosangs side, pulling him to his chest. “Oh, Yeosangie.”

Yeosang clings onto the front of his shirt, almost like if he let go, he would stop existing entirely. “San… What’s happening?” It was hard to understand through the sobbing, but San heard all the same. He did not have an answer to this. Was it because the story was ending? How could this happen? San’s mind was going a thousand miles a minute and he had no solution but to just hug Yeosang tighter to his chest. He would figure it out. He HAD to figure it out. He would not lose anyone else. Not again.

Think! It made no sense at all. Why would one of the main characters disappear in the first place? Unless…

Was Yeosang not a main character anymore? Did the story deem him unimportant? He felt a tug on his shirt. “San, do you not love me? Is that why I’m disappearing?” Yeosang’s slurred voice utterly breaks San. He could not help the tears that clouds his vision.

“No, Yeosangie. How could I not love you?” It was the truth. He loved Yeosang with his whole heart. Just not in the way Yeosang had always wanted. 

His words stop the tears running down Yeosang’s face as he stares into his boss’ eyes. A delicate hand lifts and rests itself onto San’s face. He did nothing but freeze in pain as Yeosang brought their faces together and lightly rested their lips on each other. San could not tell you why he let Yeosang kiss him in that moment. The pain from the thought of losing his friend did not seem like the right answer but it was the only answer he could supply. His mouth felt nothing like Wooyoung’s. Yeosang’s bottom lip did not fit the way it was supposed to on his. It was nothing like Wooyoung and even just thinking that broke San’s heart yet again. It was one of the most painful memories San feels he will ever have with his childhood friend. One that while Yeosang may not remember will be scared into San’s mind forever. San never meant to hurt the people he cared about but that seemed to be the only thing he was good at in this world. Or any world as was proven quite recently.

San pulls away from the kiss with a heavy heart. When he finally had the courage to open his eyes, he was greeted with a sleeping Yeosang in his arms. He pulls him close to his chest and picks him up. The arm that was fading out of view earlier was back to normal as he lifts the overly light boy into his arms, careful to not wake him up. 

San left his friend on his bed and turned off the light. Leaving behind another person he loved in disarray for what seemed to be the millionth time in his life. 

All he was good for was to hurt people, wasn’t it? It seemed to be his only skill.

\-------------------------------------------

The next day brought upon nothing new. He heard nothing from Yeosang and while he could not stop worrying endlessly about him, he did nothing to reach out. He had no idea if Yeosang remembered anything and honestly, he did not want to know. He did not want to face reality. Let alone face the fact that Yeosang’s arm did not come back into existence until they kissed. He wants to believe that it was a coincidence, but something in his heart would not let him believe that. After reading all the comics back in Wooyoung’s world, it became obvious who was supposed to be a love interest. Even if it was the typical queerbaiting he had seen in every popular media ever. With Yeosang not having a purpose other than to love San, how was he supposed to react to that? So, he just didn’t. He went back to work at the Ateez building on Monday. Yeosang greets him at the entrance without any sign he remembers anything that had happened over the weekend. He decides to just ignore the entire event in hope that it would be erased from his memory entirely. But of course, it could never be. 

The weeks seem to pass on in seconds. San living in this made up world in the only way he knew how to, by ignoring the reality of it all. And just when maybe he was getting use to the idea of staying here without Wooyoung, the world decides to hit him in the face one more time. 

The news anchor at Ateez had gotten pregnant months earlier and as she was about to give birth, San signed off on paperwork for her to have paid leave until she was ready to come back. That meant a new anchor was hired to replace her for the time being. It was San’s job as the CEO to welcome all employees into his business, so he made his way down to the filming studio for the news department to great both the new members of the filming crew and the new news anchor. It was routine for him, but something settled into his stomach on the elevator ride down to the 6th floor. It was the first emotion he had felt for weeks now which honestly scared the shit out of him. At this point in his life, feeling anything could only mean something bad was going to happen. Little did he know what would actually greet him as he entered the recording studio.

There, sitting at the half circle table in the middle of the set, was one person he never thought he would be able to see ever again. The black hair that he remembers the feel of, fell into the eyes that pierce his heart without even looking at him. 

Sitting at that table was the one person he was missing the most right now. Sitting at the table was his husband he had so longed for. Sitting at that table was one Jung Wooyoung, living and breathing as if he had not died in his arms months prior.


End file.
